Wow, they recognized that NSA deal all in one quarter.
Certicom makes its first profit on spy agency deal
Thursday December 11, 9:14 am ET
(In U.S. dollars unless noted)
TORONTO, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Certicom Corp. (Toronto:CIC.TO - News), a maker of wireless encryption software, reported on Thursday it turned a profit for the first time, as second-quarter sales surged on its $25 million licensing deal with the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).
The Mississauga, Ontario-based firm reported net income of $22.3 million, or 63 cents per share, in the quarter ended on Oct. 31, compared with a loss of $1.7 million, or 5 cents per share, in the corresponding period last year.
Revenues in the quarter grew more than tenfold to $27.6 million from $2.6 million. The latest quarter include $24.9 million in revenue recognized from the previously reported NSA contract.
Certicom's shares more than doubled in value in one day in October after it announced the NSA would license its intellectual property with a one-time payment.
The NSA is a spy agency that eavesdrops on global communications and protects U.S. information systems. It employs the country's premier codemakers and codebreakers and is said to be one of the world's largest employers of mathematicians.
Certicom said revenues, excluding the NSA licensing agreement, rose to $2.7 million from $2.6 million a year ago. It said the increase was primarily due to higher sales of security software to original equipment manufacturers.
The software maker said it expects its third-quarter operating expenses to be between $2.9 million to $3.2 million.
Certicom shares closed at C$2.72 in Toronto on Wednesday. The stock has climbed 189 percent since the start of the year, but remains well below its record high of C$125 reached in March 2000 at the height of the Internet bubble.
($1=$1.33 Canadian) |
