CheckFree raises earnings outlook
By Jenny Spitz, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 11:57 AM ET Jan. 22, 2003
ATLANTA (CBS.MW) -- Shares of CheckFree leaped Wednesday after the provider of electronic-commerce services raised its earnings outlook for the rest of the fiscal year.
CheckFree (CKFR: news, chart, profile) climbed $2.63, or 16 percent, to $19.35 in recent trading on volume of 3.8 million shares.
Chairman Pete Knight said the company expects to record pro forma earnings of 74 to 77 cents a share. Wall Street's earnings projection is 65 cents a share, according to Thomson First Call.
"The business continues to show solid, sustained revenue growth and profitability across each of our divisions," Knight said in a prepared statement.
The Atlanta-based company reported a fiscal second-quarter net loss of $11.2 million, or 13 cents a share, compared with a loss of $215.1 million, or $2.47 a share, for the comparable quarter a year ago.
Revenue came in at $135.5 million, up 12 percent from the $121.3 million reported in the year-ago quarter.
Not counting one-time items like its $46.1 million in acquisition-related amortization, CheckFree said it made $17.7 million, or 20 cents a share, matching the Thomson First Call consensus estimate.
For the quarter ending March 31, the company said it expects revenue in a $135 million to $140 million range and pro forma earnings in a 19 to 21 cent range.
Analyst Andrew Jeffrey at Needham & Co. upgraded CheckFree to "buy" from "hold," citing the "excellent" quarterly results and "ample" potential upside for the shares. He has a 12-month price target of $25.
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