Tues. July 27,,,Computer Sciences Profits Rise
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Reuters) - Computer services firm Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE:CSC - news). said Tuesday its first quarter profits rose 20 percent, matching Wall Street expectations as it raked in new business at a record pace.
Computer Sciences said net earnings rose to $78.3 million, or 48 cents per diluted share, for its first quarter ended July 2, meeting consensus estimates as compiled by First Call Corp.
That compared with profits of $64.3 million, or 40 cents a share for the year-ago period, a per-share increase of 20 percent. The El Segundo, Calif.-based company provides consulting and management services for the computer and information systems of businesses and government agencies.
The company's stock fell $2.56 to $64.81 in composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday. The earnings were released after the market closed.
Revenues rose to $2.06 billion, up 17.6 percent rise from $1.75 billion a year earlier, as new contracts worth $4.7 billion poured in during the quarter, the company said.
Revenues had climbed on mounting demand for outsourcing, electronic business, enterprise-wide solutions and supply chain and systems integration, the company's Chief Executive Officer Van Honeycutt said in a statement.
Commercial revenue growth grew 23.1 percent over the same quarter last year, while revenues from the federal government inched up 1.6 percent as declines in defense and space contracts dragged down growth in business from civil agencies.
''Our revenue base has been enhanced worldwide by this record pace of new business awards,'' Honeycutt said.
While revenues from the United States and Europe both rose by more than 16 percent, the company said its fourth-quarter acquisition of Singapore-based CSA Holdings Ltd. had helped it double non-European international revenues to $207 million.
Honeycutt was upbeat on government contracts overall, saying, ''New federal awards announced during our first quarter exceeded $2 billion, and our pipeline in this market is robust.''
Last December, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service awarded a seven-company consortium led by Computer Sciences a 15-year outsourcing contract estimated to be worth up to $8 billion.
Honeycutt said the company expects its electronic business related revenue to be nearly $600 million in the current fiscal year, nearly triple that of last year.
''Our e-business opportunities are increasing, particularly in the business-to-business market which is estimated to be at least five times greater than the consumer market and is growing twice as fast,'' Honeycutt said. |
