Symantec posts higher fiscal 1st-qtr income but sees ‘continued cautiousness’ in IT spending

Symantec fiscal 1Q net income more than doubles

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Symantec Corp. said Wednesday that its fiscal first-quarter net income more than doubled, but revenue missed Wall Street’s expectations in part because corporate customers were still cautious about spending on technology.

Symantec also projected fiscal second-quarter results below analyst estimates, and investors sent shares of the security software maker down in after-hours trading.

For the quarter ended July 3, Symantec’s net income rose to $161 million, or 20 cents per share, from $74 million, or 9 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Excluding certain items, Symantec said it earned 35 cents per share, matching the average projection of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Symantec recorded a gain of $4 million related to income taxes, compared with an income tax provision of $42 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue was essentially flat at $1.43 billion, slightly lower than the $1.47 billion Wall Street predicted. Its consumer division, which accounts for about a third of its business, posted a 6 percent increase in revenue, but storage and server management, which accounts for another third, reported a 5 percent decline in revenue.

Symantec, which does half of its business abroad, was also hurt by the stronger U.S. dollar in the quarter because sales in foreign currencies translated into fewer U.S. dollars.

Unlike many technology companies, which have reported businesses have begun spending on technology again, Symantec said its corporate customers are replacing outdated products more slowly.

“This quarter, we saw lengthening of procurement cycles driven by continued cautiousness among IT buyers. In particular, this affected our storage management results,” said CEO Enrique Salem in a statement.

Shares of Symantec sank $1.17, or 8 percent, to $13.50 in extended trading. Earlier, the stock had shed 32 cents, or 2.1 percent, to end regular trading at $14.67. The stock has ranged from $13.58 to $19.16 over the past year.