Intuit posts wider 4th-quarter loss as sales slip while costs rise; fiscal year profit slips

Intuit posts wider 4Q loss as sales slow, costs up

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Personal finance and business software maker Intuit Inc. on Thursday posted a wider loss for its fiscal fourth quarter as revenue slipped while expenses rose.

The company also offered a disappointing forecast, and shares fell in after-hours trading.

For the three months ended July 31, Intuit reported a loss of $70.7 million, or 22 cents per share, compared with a loss of $61.9 million, or 19 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Intuit typically posts a loss for its fiscal fourth quarter, as it has little revenue from its tax business, but expenses remain more or less constant.

Adjusted for acquisition-related costs, share-based compensation expenses and other items, the loss was 10 cents per share.

Revenue slipped slightly to $475.8 million, from $478.2 million in the year-ago quarter.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected a loss of 12 cents per share, on revenue of $469.9 million. Analysts typically do not include one-time items in their estimates, and did not include share-based compensation expenses in their Intuit forecasts.

Product revenue fell 12 percent to $192.8 million, while service revenue rose 9 percent to $282.9 million.

Operating costs rose 3 percent to $591.3 million.

CEO Brad Smith, in a telephone interview, said the results were “a direct reflection of the economy.” He noted that the number of tax filings with the Internal Revenue Service was flat compared with last year, yet Intuit grew its market share for online tax services. But growth was hampered by the lack of increase among filers.

“There were a significant number of people who didn’t enter the market,” he said. “We just didn’t get a shot at them because they didn’t file.”

For the fiscal year, Intuit posted profit of $447 million, or $1.35 per share, compared with profit of $476.8 million, or $1.41 per share, in fiscal 2008. Revenue rose 4 percent to $3.18 billion, from $3.07 billion last year.

The company forecast lower growth for the 2010 fiscal year than Wall Street expected. Smith said bigger gains have to wait for economy recover.

Intuit tracks its small business customers’ receipts through its payment solutions unit. Payments made with debit and credit cards are down 9 percent for those businesses for the last three quarters. While they are no longer declining, Smith said, the continued slump is “a pretty good indication to me that’s nothing has turned around.” When the economy does start to recover, Intuit’s various business segments will reflect that.

Intuit shares ended Thursday’s trading up 17 cents at $30.85, but fell after releasing results. In aftermarket electronic trading, the stock slipped 91 cents, or 3 percent, to $29.94.