DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
CA Inc.'s (CA) fiscal third-quarter net income rose 31% as the
company reduced costs, but sales slid on weakness related to the
economic downturn.
However, the maker of business and data-management software
formerly called Computer Associates increased the high end of its
full-year earnings guidance.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, the company reported net income
of $213 million, or 40 cents a share, up from $163 million, or 31
cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding items, earnings rose to 43
cents a share from 36 cents.
Revenue fell 5.3% to $1.04 billion but was flat when adjusted
for constant currency.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings, excluding
items, of 38 cents on revenue of $1.07 billion.
Total expenses, before interest and income taxes, fell 14% to
$733 million, or a 10% drop in constant currency.
North American revenue increased 1%, while international revenue
dropped 13%, or 3% when adjusted to reflect constant currency.
Total product and service bookings fell 2%.
CA raised the high end of its fiscal 2009 earnings guidance,
saying it expects $1.48 to $1.57 a share, up from its already
raised October guidance of $1.48 to $1.55.
The company also said it expects revenue for the year of $4.23
billion to $4.31 billion, compared with its lowered previous
estimate of about $4.3 billion.
CA has been restructuring and expanding internationally as it
looks to rebound from a 2002 accounting scandal that saw several
executives plead guilty to criminal charges. In a note last month,
Jefferies & Co. analyst Katherine Egbert said the company's
operations seem to be fundamentally revamped.
"CA seems to be emerging from the dark cloud that has covered it
for the last decade," she wrote.
Shares closed Thursday at $17.53 and weren't moving in recent
after-hours activity. Shares have lost more than a third of their
value since May.
-By Jennifer Hoyt, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2474;
jennifer.hoyt@dowjones.com
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