BOSTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - VMware Inc posted
quarterly profit above Wall Street expectations on Monday,
sending its shares soaring 18.6 percent, saying an improving
global economy helped boost sales of its business software.
The company, which makes virtualization software that improves the efficiency of computers, reported profit excluding items of 31 cents per share in its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, beating the average analyst forecast of 26 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Quarterly revenue rose 18 percent to $608 million, sharply above the average analyst forecast of $554 million.
Chief Financial Officer Mark Peek said in a statement that the economy is 'slowly recovering.'
The Palo Alto, California-based company said that net income fell to $56.4 million, or 14 cents a share, from $111.5 million, or 29 cents, a year earlier, as its operating expenses grew from the year-earlier period.
The company's shares rose to $49.80 in extended trading after closing at $42.00 on the Nasdaq.
The stock trades for about 39 times the average forecast for next year's per-share profit. That's a sharp premium to rivals Microsoft Corp and Oracle Corp, which trade for about 14 times next year's earnings forecast.
(Reporting by Jim Finkle, editing by Matthew Lewis) Keywords: VMWWARE/ (jim.finkle@thomsonreuters.com; + 1 617 856 4344; Reuters Messaging: jim.finkle.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The company, which makes virtualization software that improves the efficiency of computers, reported profit excluding items of 31 cents per share in its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, beating the average analyst forecast of 26 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Quarterly revenue rose 18 percent to $608 million, sharply above the average analyst forecast of $554 million.
Chief Financial Officer Mark Peek said in a statement that the economy is 'slowly recovering.'
The Palo Alto, California-based company said that net income fell to $56.4 million, or 14 cents a share, from $111.5 million, or 29 cents, a year earlier, as its operating expenses grew from the year-earlier period.
The company's shares rose to $49.80 in extended trading after closing at $42.00 on the Nasdaq.
The stock trades for about 39 times the average forecast for next year's per-share profit. That's a sharp premium to rivals Microsoft Corp and Oracle Corp, which trade for about 14 times next year's earnings forecast.
(Reporting by Jim Finkle, editing by Matthew Lewis) Keywords: VMWWARE/ (jim.finkle@thomsonreuters.com; + 1 617 856 4344; Reuters Messaging: jim.finkle.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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