Utilities software house Symantec Corp has reported third-quarter net income down 25.6% at $16.2m on revenue up 11.3% at $165.1m. Earnings per share came in at $0.42, a penny ahead of the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by First Call. Results include pre-tax acquisition and restructuring charges of $7.6m. The company said it saw solid sales increases in both the retail and corporate sectors, with substantial growth coming from Europe, which accounted for 28% of total revenues. Retail business was boosted by strong sales of the Norton SystemWorks suite and the release of Norton AntiVirus 5.0. Symantec also says it saw 114% growth in internet sales over the same quarter last year in fiscal 1998. Corporate revenues, meanwhile, grew from 32% in the second quarter to 39% of total company revenues in the third, mostly due to strategic alliances with IBM, Intel and Platinum. As of the end of December quarter, more than 6000 customers, representing in excess of 2 million seats are in the process of transitioning to Norton AntiVirus as a result of Symantec’s partnership with IBM. Nine-month net income fell 78.3% to $13.2m on revenue up 8.5% at $458.3m. Earnings per share fell 77.5% to $0.23 for the nine months. Nine-month results include pre-tax acquisition and restructuring charges of $53.8m as well as an acquisition-related tax benefit of $8.1m. Looking ahead, Symantec projects 10% revenue growth and sequential earnings growth in the March quarter, although the soon-to-close Quarterdeck acquisition is not expected to add much to the bottom line. Further out, the company expects 20% revenue growth in fiscal 2000 and hopes to see 25% growth in pre-tax profits by March 2000.
