Veritas/Conf Call-2: CEO Says 1Q Sales Climate Was Tough
By Marcelo Prince
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Veritas Software Corp. (VRTS) reported first-quarter
results that were essentially in line with analysts' estimates, bucking a
trend of disappointing earnings results from software companies.
But there are signs the data storage and protection software vendor is
starting to feel the pinch of the slowing economy and pared technology
spending. Its first-quarter sales were slightly below some analysts'
estimates, and Veritas executives lowered financial targets for the second
quarter and 2001 on a conference call Tuesday.
Gary Bloom, Veritas' chief executive, said on the call that the company
encountered a challenging selling climate during the first quarter and
customers were hesitant to finalize contracts. "It was kind of a struggle to
close deals," he said. "It just took more work."
Ken Lonchar, chief financial officer, said the company's previous growth
targets remain achievable. But given the economic uncertainty and the
sharply reduced outlooks from storage hardware vendors, including EMC Corp.
(EMC) and Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW), it's "prudent" to lower Veritas'
goals.
Accordingly, Lonchar reduced the sales and income goals for the second
quarter. He said second-quarter sales should increase about 1% from the
first quarter's $387 million. The consensus estimate calls for
second-quarter sales of $410 million, with some analysts expecting more than
$420 million.
Lonchar said operating earnings should be 19 cents in the second quarter,
below the consensus estimate of 21 cents, as tallied by Thomson
Financial/First Call.
(MORE) DOW JONES NEWS 04-17-01
06:02 PM
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