INTU Intuit Inc

   By Micah Maidenberg 
 

Intuit Inc. (INTU) reported stronger-than-expected profits to begin its new fiscal year as the accounting and finance software company posted sharp growth in revenue across its business segments.

Intuit's profit was $34 million, or 13 cents share, for the quarter ended in October, compared with a loss of $2 million, or a penny a share, a year earlier.

Helping to drive the performance was a 41% increase of subscribers of the company's QuickBooks Online service, which now has close to 3.6 million subscribers, including about 745,000 users who are self-employed.

On an adjusted basis, Intuit reported a profit of 29 cents a share for its latest period. Analysts predicted 11 cents a share.

Revenues rose 12% from the year earlier to $1.02 billion, surpassing expectations of $969 million.

Shares of Intuit rose 6.4% to $212 in after-hours trading. Intuit's stock closed down 5.8% during Monday regular trading, amid a broader selloff in technology stocks.

Intuit is known for the income tax preparation product TurboTax; QuickBooks, which targets businesses; and the personal-finance tool Mint.

For the second quarter of its 2019 fiscal year, Intuit said Monday it anticipates booking between $1.47 billion to $1.49 billion and earning between 55 cents a share and 58 cents a share in profit.

The company maintained its prior guidance for the full fiscal year, which includes revenue of $6.53 billion to $6.63 billion and earnings between $5.25 a share and $5.35 a share.

Like other firms that depend on customers preparing their taxes each spring, Intuit often reports small profits or losses during its fiscal year, except for the period ended April 30, when its performance is lifted by customers working on their taxes.

Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 19, 2018 16:41 ET (21:41 GMT)

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