5/17 ADSK ( loser: $40 to $35) beats street, lowers 2002 revenue guidance
(UPDATE: Recasts, adds analyst comment, details, adds byline, previous SAN RAFAEL)
By Lisa Baertlein
PALO ALTO, Calif., May 17 (Reuters) - Computer-aided design software maker Autodesk Inc. (NasdaqNM:ADSK - news) on Thursday posted first-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations, but lowered revenue expectations for its 2002 fiscal year amid an economic slowdown that is dampening technology spending.
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The stock fell nearly $2 to $36 on the Instinet electronic broker system after the company released its results and revised forecast.
Autodesk shares, which have outperformed Standard and Poor's computer software index by nearly 117 percent since the end of 1999, had closed the regular session 11 cents higher at $37.62.
The maker of AutoCAD for architects and mechanical engineers and Discreet animation software said its pro forma income, excluding goodwill and other items, rose to $32 million, or 57 cents per diluted share, from $30 million, or 48 cents, in the year-ago quarter as revenue grew 6 percent to $246 million.
Analysts' consensus estimate for the San Rafael, California-based software vendor's quarter ended April 30 was 46 cents in a range of 43 to 50 cents a share, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
``Operationally, it came in about where I expected,'' said A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. analyst William Broun.
He admitted that the company crushed analysts' earnings expectations, but added that those profits were helped by such items as interest and other income, a lower share count and an 8-cent per share gain resulting from the delay of a planned investment in its Internet spin-off Buzzsaw.com.
``Given the economy, given what's going on, it was a good quarter ... The number at the bottom line makes it look better than it probably was,'' Broun said.
ASIA A TIGER
``Asia-Pacific performed exceptionally well. Our programs to decrease piracy in the region have paid off,'' Carol Bartz, Autodesk's chief executive said during a conference call with analysts.
That performance helped the company ``bring in the bacon'' by offsetting softness in the U.S. economy and the beginnings of ``buyer hesitancy'' in Europe, Bartz said.
Product results also were mixed. Year-over-year, AutoCAD and Discreet revenues grew while demand for manufacturing and geographic information systems (GIS) products softened.
The company, which added 55 sales positions in the first quarter, vowed to manage overall head counts, combine offices and ask employees to take four days off work around July 4 in an effort to control costs.
``We believe the diversity of our business -- multiple geographies, markets, and products -- gives us a cushion against a dramatic downturn. With our continued focus on tight fiscal management, we are able to maintain our original earnings guidance for the full year,'' Bartz said.
2002 EXPECTATIONS REVISED
Autodesk reiterated its forecast for fiscal 2002 earnings of $2.10 and $2.25 but trimmed its revenue estimate by between 2 and 4 percent to $1 billion to $1.02 billion. Analysts currently expect Autodesk to post earnings of $2.19 on sales of $1.03 billion.
For the second quarter of fiscal year 2002, the company forecast pro forma earnings of between 40 and 50 cents per diluted share on net revenue of between $240 million and $250 million, below analysts' estimates for earnings of 56 cents on sales of $226.3 million.
The second-quarter guidance reflects the company's anticipated Buzzsaw.com investment but does not include a $10 million to $15 million, one-time charge the company expects to take related to facility consolidations, company officials said.
Autodesk's net income was $28 million, or 50 cents per diluted share, compared with $26 million, or 41 cents, in the year-ago period. |
