Symantec Q4 2012 Results: GAAP Revenue Of $1.68 Billion, Operating Margin Was 11.4 Percent

Posted on May 3 2012 - 4:25pm by Editorial Staff

Symantec has reported the results of its fourth quarter and the fiscal year 2012, ended March 30, 2012. GAAP revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter was $1.68 billion, flat year-over-year and up 1 percent after adjusting for currency. For the fiscal year, GAAP revenue was $6.73 billion, up 9 percent year-over-year and up 6 percent after adjusting for currency.

GAAP operating margin for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012 was 11.4 percent compared with 14.3 percent for the same quarter last year. GAAP net income for the fiscal fourth quarter was $559 million compared with $168 million for the year-ago period. GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.76, including the one-time impact from the sale of Symantec’s share of the Huawei-Symantec joint venture, compared with $0.22 for the year-ago quarter.

For the fiscal year 2012, GAAP operating margin was 16.0 percent compared with 14.2 percent for the same period last year. GAAP net income for the fiscal year 2012 was $1.17 billion. GAAP diluted earnings per share for the year was $1.57. GAAP deferred revenue as of March 30, 2012, was $3.97 billion compared with $3.82 billion as of April 1, 2011, up 4 percent year-over-year and up 5 percent after adjusting for currency.

“We posted 9 percent growth for fiscal year 2012, driven by strength in our backup, Software-as-a-Service, data loss prevention, and managed security services offerings. In addition, we generated strong deferred revenue and cash flow, despite a weaker than expected fourth quarter,” said Enrique Salem, president and chief executive officer, Symantec. “We are encouraged as customers move towards cloud delivered services, and are excited about the roadmap we’ve developed for fiscal year 2013. We have many of the foundational elements in place to continue growing our business.”

Cash flow from operating activities for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012 was $687 million compared with $689 million for the same quarter last year. Symantec ended the quarter and fiscal year with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $3.21 billion. Cash flow from operating activities for fiscal year 2012 was $1.90 billion compared with $1.79 billion for fiscal year 2011, an increase of 6 percent.

Non-GAAP operating margin for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012 was 22.2 percent compared with 24.1 percent for the year-ago period. Non-GAAP net income for the fourth quarter was $283 million compared with $297 million for the year-ago quarter. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.38 compared with earnings per share of $0.38 for the year ago quarter.

For the fiscal year 2012, non-GAAP operating margin was 25.2 percent compared with 24.8 percent for the same period last year. Non-GAAP net income for the year was $1.2 billion, compared to $1.1 billion for the prior year, an increase of 7%. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share were $1.61, compared to $1.42, up 13% year over year.

During the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012, Symantec repurchased approximately 12 million shares for $200 million at an average price of $17.88. During the fiscal year 2012, the company repurchased 51 million shares at an average price of $17.62, equivalent to $893 million. Symantec has $984 million remaining in the current board authorized stock repurchase program.

Symantec expanded its portfolio of SaaS-delivered offerings; it recently launched O3, a security service for the cloud. It introduced multiple mobile application and device management solutions, as well as DLP for tablets. It strengthened its partnership with VMware, for backup storage as it pertains to virtualization. Revenue continues to trickle in from the Clearwell and LiveOffice acquisitions from last year.

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