Symantec results better than expected

Symantec has reported better than expected results, with revenue rising 4 percent year-on-year.

Revenue hit $US1.6 billion ($A1.61 billion) in the third quarter ending December 31, above Wall Street’s target of $1.58 billion.

The security giant said consumer, backup and data loss prevention were to thank for the positive third-quarter results, alongside “stability in the storage management business”.

Security and compliance revenue rose 13 percent, while consumer revenue rose 4 percent.

Net income still fell; for the quarter it stood at $132 million - a drop from $301 million seen in the same quarter last year.

“In addition, our recent acquisitions are performing above expectations,” said Enrique Salem, Symantec president and chief executive officer.

The VeriSign security acquisition made $48 million of revenue and the PGP and GuardianEdge acquisitions generated revenue of $18 million, Symantec said.

“Our focus on helping customers secure and manage their information and identities in an increasingly mobile, cloud-based and virtualised world positions us well for long-term growth,” Salem added.

The results will no doubt boost confidence at Symantec, which had seen its shares underperform in the past year.

"In the December quarter, we delivered on all of our key financial metrics," said James Beer, Symantec executive vice president and chief financial officer.

“We continued to generate substantial cash flow from operations and achieved record deferred revenue, as a result of strong bookings performance and the contribution from our recent acquisitions."

This article originally appeared at itpro.co.uk