International growth boosts Symantec earnings

With strong international sales and growth in its services business, Symantec reported earnings Wednesday that beat analyst expectations.
Excluding charges, revenue at the security and storage company grew 15 percent year over year, to US$1.53 billion for the period ended Dec 28. Analysts had been expecting revenue of $1.45 billion, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Financial. Earnings were $0.33 per share, ahead of the analyst estimate of $0.28 per share.

Symantec's international revenue -- which represents more than half of the company's business -- grew by 21 percent year over year, Symantec said. The Europe, Middle East and Africa region was the fastest-growing, with revenues up 26 percent from the previous year. Revenue in Asia grew by 19 percent, the company said.

Service sales totalled just 6 percent of Symantec's revenue, but they grew by 40 percent from the previous year.The company's consumer and enterprise security businesses grew by just 8 percent and 9 percent, respectively. Symantec's data center management group saw sales jump 11 percent over the same period.

Symantec raised guidance for its full fiscal year 2008, which ends March 28. It now expects revenue to be in the range of $5.90 billion to $5.94 billion, with earnings per share between $1.24 and $1.26. Analysts had been expecting annual revenue of around $5.79 billion with earnings per share at $1.16, according to Thomson.

The company's shares leapt more than 7 percent on the results in after-hours trading, reaching $16.40 late Wednesday afternoon.