Symantec Profit Rises, Helped by Cost Cuts

Symantec Corp., the maker of antivirus software, said cost cuts helped profit rise in its latest quarter, though sales retreated.

In May, Symantec said it would cut about 10% of its workforce and close some facilities as it looked to cut costs as well as search for a new chief executive after former CEO Michael Brown stepped down in April amid disappointing financial results. In June, the company struck a deal to buy Blue Coat Systems Inc. for $4.65 billion, a deal that helped the company along in both aspects.

The Blue Coat Systems deal contributed to some $550 million in net costs savings, Symantec said, as well as providing the newly merged company with its new leader, Blue Coat Chief Executive Greg Clark. In the latest quarter, the company cut total operating expense to $629 million from $671 million a year ago.

Shares of the company, down about 5.8% over the past 12 months, climbed 4.9% to $22.05 after hours.

While Symantec is a pioneer in antivirus software that runs on personal computers, Blue Coat's domain is the World Wide Web. The company's technology is used by more than 15,000 companies to block dangerous or inappropriate websites.

Over all for the latest quarter, Symantec earned $135 million, or 22 cents a share, up from $117 million, or 17 cents a share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were 29 cents a share, up from 26 cents.

Revenue fell 3% to $884 million.

For the latest quarter, the company expected revenue between $865 million and $895 million, with adjusted per-share earnings in the range of 24 cents to 26 cents.

For the current quarter, the company expects adjusted earnings between 18 cents and 21 cents, while analysts expect 26 cents.

Write to Ezequiel Minaya at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 04, 2016 18:25 ET (22:25 GMT)

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