Blue Coat's in-line guidance helps lift shares
Thursday February 26, 2009, 5:32 pm EST
SUNNYVALE, Calif. (AP) -- Blue Coat Systems Inc. is projecting a profit for the current quarter that is in line with analysts' expectations.
The stock jumped nearly 7 percent on the strong forecast for the February-April period, and the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company's better-than-expected profit in the just-finished quarter, the three months ended Jan. 31.
Blue Coat announced its earnings and forecast after the market closed Thursday. Shares gained 64 cents, or 6.8 percent, to $10.10 in after-hours trading. During the regular trading session, the stock had gained 18 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $9.46.
Blue Coat, which makes machines that help protect corporate networks and improve application performance, said Thursday it expects profit of 18 cents to 24 cents per share in the current quarter, excluding one-time costs.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting 19 cents per share.
Sales are projected to be $112.5 million to $117.5 million. Analysts were expecting $113 million in sales.
Blue Coat announced its outlook in reporting its numbers for the fiscal third quarter, which ended in January.
In that just-finished period, Blue Coat pulled down a profit of $9.3 million, or 21 cents per share, when one-time charges were excluded. On that basis, analysts were expecting 16 cents per share.
Sales jumped 35 percent to $109.6 million.
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The Company's full press release |
