ISLANDIA (dpa-AFX) - Application software maker CA Technologies (CA) said Thursday its fourth-quarter earnings increased from last year, helped mainly by lower income tax payments.
Revenues for the quarter rose 5 percent from last year, but were mostly offset by increased product development and general expenses. The company generated improved demand for its services and learning, virtualization, security and mainframe solutions, while softness was evidenced in mainframe capacity and service assurance.
CA Technologies' earnings for the quarter topped Street estimates, while revenues were in line with expectations.
Moving ahead, the company detailed a weak outlook for fiscal year 2013, with revenue indicated to essentially miss Street estimates, partly on a lower backlog.
CA Technologies' quarterly results included from income tax payments that decreased to $79 million from $102 million last year, given its effective tax rate receded to 27.2 percent from 35.3 percent.
CA Technologies, which competes with rivals such as BMC Software and Hewlett-Packard, said revenue for the quarter grew 5 percent from last year.
Subscription and maintenance revenues, which forms the main business, rose 2 percent from the prior year. Professional services grew 13 percent, and software fees were up 43 percent, year-over-year.
Revenues from North America rose 9 percent from last year, while International revenues were flat.
Islandia, New York-based CA Technologies reported fourth-quarter net income of $211 million or $0.45 per share, compared to $188 million or $0.37 per share last year.
Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $264 million or $0.56 per share, compared to $247 million or $0.48 per share last year.
On average, 13 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.52 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
The company reported quarterly revenues of $1.19 billion, compared to $1.13 billion a year ago. Twelve analysts expected revenues of $1.19 billion for the quarter.
The company's total bookings in the quarter slid 18 percent from last year to $1.54 billion. Total revenue backlog was down 3 percent to $8.47 billion, while the current portion of revenue backlog was flat at $3.47 billion.
CA Technologies expects full-year 2013 net income of $2.07 to $2.14 per share, with adjusted earnings of $2.45 to $2.53 per share. Revenues are estimated in the range of $4.85 billion to $4.95 billion.
Analysts currently expect earnings of $2.50 per share and revenue of $5.01 billion for fiscal year 2013.
Chief Executive Bill McCracken said, 'In fiscal 2013 we will continue to focus on improving our execution, expanding our presence in large existing enterprises, and winning new accounts in large new enterprises and growth markets.'
The company during the 2012 quarter announced an enhanced capital allocation program that targets the return of up to $2.5 billion to its shareholders through fiscal year ending March 31, 2014.
CA closed Thursday at $26.41, up $0.06 or 0.23%, on a volume of about 11 million shares on the Nasdaq. In the last year, the stock trended in a range $18.61 - $28.00.
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