Intuit to Divest Demandforce, QuickBase and Quicken -- Update

By Josh Beckerman 

Intuit Inc., the maker of TurboTax, said it plans to divest its Demandforce, QuickBase and Quicken operations to sharpen its focus.

The company also increased its dividend by 20% to 30 cents a share from 25 cents.

Intuit said its loss excluding items for the fiscal fourth quarter ended July 31 was five cents a share, while revenue rose 7% to $696 million. Intuit had expected a loss excluding items of 10 cents to 12 cents a share on revenue of $720 million to $745 million.

Net income was $14 million, or five cents a share, compared with a net loss of $29 million, or 10 cents a share, a year earlier.

The company said "small business momentum continues to build" and it posted strong growth in QuickBooks Online subscribers.

Intuit shares fell 3.8% to $99 in after-hours trading.

The planned exit from Demandforce, QuickBase and Quicken is expected to reduce revenue by about $250 million, and earnings excluding items by about 10 cents a share for the year ending in July 2016. Intuit expects revenue of $4.525 to $4.6 billion and earnings excluding items of $3.40 to $3.45 for the year.

Write to Josh Beckerman at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 20, 2015 17:37 ET (21:37 GMT)

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