Network Appliance Fiscal 4th-Qtr Net Income Doubles
Sunnyvale, California, May 18 (Bloomberg) -- Network Appliance Inc., which makes computers that store and deliver files on computer networks, said fiscal fourth-quarter profit more than doubled as customers' need for storage surged.
Net income for the quarter ended April 28 rose to $24.5 million, or 7 cents a share, from net income of $10.7 million, or a split-adjusted 3 cents, a year earlier. Revenue more than doubled to $200 million from $90.8 million
Network Appliance's equipment gives access to frequently used data on networks of corporations and Internet service providers. The company is benefiting from rising Web use by businesses and individuals. Yahoo! Inc., the world's No. 1 Internet search service, is one of its top customers.
``There is continued strength in the Internet companies and the ISP (Internet service provider) sector that is driving the revenues,'' said Mark Kelleher, a SunTrust Equitable Securities analyst, who rates Network Appliance, a ``strong buy.''
Kelleher said he expected revenue of $171 million and earnings of 6 cents a share, the same as the average estimate of analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial.
Some analysts have said that Network Appliance will pose a threat to EMC Corp., the world's No. 1 maker of computer data- storage systems, because its systems are less expensive and easier to maintain that those of EMC's.
Kelleher said the two may tangle in the next year or two as Network Appliance moves up to bigger machines for larger corporations and EMC offers more machines that target Network Appliance's customers, mainly mid-sized companies.
``NetApp is in a niche market that EMC has not addressed as yet,'' Kelleher said. ``Both have been thriving and are well aware of each other.''
For the fiscal year, net income doubled to $73.8 million, or 21 cents a share, from net income of $35.6 million, or a split adjusted 11 cents. Revenue doubled to $579.3 million from $289.4 million.
Shares of Sunnyvale, California-based Network Appliance rose 1/4 to 69. It reported earnings after the close of regular U.S. trading. Its shares have risen more than five-fold in the past year and have gained 66 percent this year. |
