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To: 2MAR$ who wrote (65)	8/22/2001 4:29:29 AM
From: 2MAR$	Respond to of 238

INTU ( $29-$32) EPS -.10c loses $61 mln in fourth quarter But software maker exceeds expectations By Tim Eaton, CBS MarketWatch Last Update: 9:21 PM ET Aug. 21, 2001 MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- Despite a boost in revenue, software maker Intuit reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $61.3 million. FRONT PAGE NEWS Fed cut incites broad U.S. market sell-off Late word of job cuts at AOL Fed cuts rates by quarter point as expected Market news and more! Sign up to receive FREE email newsletters Get the latest news 24 hours a day from our 100-person news team. Even with Intuit's 29-cent-a-share loss this quarter -- versus a gain of 8 cents a share in the same quarter last year -- the company surprised analysts by losing less than forecast. Excluding charges, Intuit's loss was $17.1 million, or 8 cents a share, compared with a loss of $8.2 million, or 4 cents a share, during the same quarter last year. But analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call expected a loss, excluding charges, of 10 cents a share, on average. "Of all the software companies out there - and this one is also a services company - this one has been able to weather the storm, and now, things looks like they are heading up," said Prudential analyst Bryan Keane. Raymond Stern, senior vice president of corporate strategy, pointed to the company's tax business, small business market and assets as indicator for a successful future. "Across the board," he said, "we are seeing a much more tightly run ship with a lot focus on improving the performance of this business." On a pro forma basis, Intuit reported fiscal 2001 net income of $184.1 million, or 86 cents a share, up 37 percent from $134.2 million, or 64 cents a share from last year. Intuit's quarterly results were affected by bad investments and acquisition charges, totaling $187.3 million in pre-tax charges. The company's loss partially consisted of a charge of $89.2 million from acquisition-related costs in companies like Task Software, Employee Matters and Rock Financial. The company also blamed part of the total deficit on a $98.1 million loss from investments, sharply off the gain of last year, when the company earned almost half a billion dollars from investments. Stern would not disclose investments in the company's portfolio holdings. "We have quite a seasonal business with a lot of product launches coming in our second and third quarters, and that just happens to be prime tax season," Stern said. "We're making investments in our fourth quarter in terms of building our product." Ahead of the report, Intuit (INTU: news, chart, profile) shares ended down $1.75, or 5.6 percent, at $29.45. In after-hours trading the shares jumped 6 percent to $31.44. Quarterly revenue for the Mountain View, Calif.-based company rose 18 percent to $191.1 million, based on Intuit's tax-related businesses and strong performances by two of its companies, Quicken Loans and payroll. In last year's fourth quarter the company had revenue of $162.3 million and continued to build a balance sheet with nearly $1.6 billion in cash. "Even in difficult economic times, people have to pay taxes. Our tax-related businesses continue to grow because tax laws continue to get more complex. This ongoing change and complexity makes Intuit's tax solutions even more valuable," said Steve Bennett, Intuit's president and CEO in a press release. Company officials forecast revenue growth for fiscal year 2002 of between 15 to 20 percent, not anticipating the impact of future acquisitions. "We're entering a period that will be a strong season for the stock. In the last four years, this thing has rocketed during this time," Keane said of Intuit's history. "I think the stock will greatly outperform."