F5 Networks Announces Fiscal First Quarter Results;
Strong Revenue Growth Drives Improved Profitability
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--1/21/04--F5 Networks (Nasdaq:FFIV) today
announced net income of $3.8 million ($0.11 per diluted share) on
revenue of $36.1 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2004, up from
$1.4 million ($0.05 per diluted share) on revenue of $31.6 million in
the fourth quarter of fiscal 2003. In the first quarter of fiscal 2003
the company reported net income of $0.5 million ($0.02 per diluted
share) on revenue of $27.1 million.
F5 president and chief executive officer John McAdam said the
company's strong performance reflected continuing strength in its core
traffic management business across all geographic regions and product
lines, which helped boost its first quarter operating margin to 11
percent. Year over year, product revenue grew 35 percent while service
revenue increased 28 percent during the same period. In addition,
McAdam said sales of the company's recently acquired FirePass SSL VPN
technology were stronger than anticipated, accounting for more than 5
percent of product sales.
"During the past several quarters we've seen increasing returns
from our ongoing investments in product development and our focus on
enterprise customers," McAdam said. "Growing demand for our core
products and services is evidence that enterprises are increasingly
aware of the benefits of application traffic management in general and
the advanced features and functionality that have made BIG-IP a
technology and market leader."
In addition to its strong operating results, McAdam said the
company continued to strengthen its balance sheet during the quarter.
Days sales outstanding (DSO) fell to 44 days, contributing to positive
cash flow of $8.4 million from operations. At December 31, 2003, the
company had $205.0 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments,
including $113.6 million from its recently completed public offering.
For the second quarter of fiscal 2004, McAdam said management believes
the company will continue to grow sequentially and has set a target
range of $37.0 million to $39.0 million in revenue with net income of
$0.13 to $0.15 per share. |
