SAN JOSE, Calif. (AFX) - BEA Systems Inc., a provider of application server software, on Wednesday posted a slight rise in second-quarter profit as sales jumped 19 percent.
However, a newly announced plan to review past stock options practices sent shares lower aftermarket.
BEA said its audit committee has begun an internal probe into historical stock option grants and suggested the review could result in a restatement of past results. The company joins some 97 others public companies either conducting internal reviews or being investigated by federal regulators for stock options practices.
Shares of BEA fell 14 cents in aftermarket activity to $12.33, after rising 51 cents, or 4.3 percent, to finish at $12.47 on the Nasdaq.
Net income in the quarter edged higher to $36.3 million from $36.1 million a year ago. Per-share results were flat at 9 cents per share, as the company's share count expanded to 407.4 million from 399.3 million. Excluding stock compensation costs and one-time charges, per-share earnings rose to 14 cents from 9 cents a year ago, BEA said.
Revenue grew to $339.6 million from $285.2 million. BEA said its core WebLogic Server business remained solid and rapid growth into China continued.
Analysts forecast profit of 12 cents per share and sales of $334.8 million, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.
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