DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
BMC Software Inc.'s (BMC) fiscal third-quarter net income fell
slightly, but the company showed its resilience by again raising
its expectations for fiscal 2009 earnings.
"Despite a difficult environment and an adverse currency impact,
we maintained our sales momentum and increased bookings, revenue
and cash flow from operations," Chief Financial Officer Steve
Solcher said. "We also did a solid job of controlling expenses,
while making strategic investments in the development of new
solutions and our field sales force."
The maker of business software reported net income for the
quarter ended Dec. 31 of $83.8 million, compared with $84 million a
year earlier. Earnings per share rose to 45 cents from 42 cents,
reflecting fewer shares outstanding.
Excluding restructuring charges, stock-based compensation and
other items, per-share earnings rose to 64 cents from 54 cents.
Revenue increased 6.4% to $488.4 million.
The mean earnings estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters
was 59 cents a share on revenue of $488 million.
Total bookings on a trailing 12-month basis rose 6% to $1.9
billion.
For fiscal 2009, BMC now expects adjusted earnings of $2.20 to
$2.30 a share. The company still expects total revenue growth in
the high single digits.
In October, BMC raised the forecast to a range of $2.15 to $2.25
a share, although it did cite the stronger dollar and declining
economy as concerns. A little over a month later, the company said
it would cut 350 jobs and warned more cuts might be necessary if
the economy deteriorated further.
In after-hours trading, BMC's shares were up 4.2% at $26.98 from
the Wednesday close of $25.89.
-By Jay Miller, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2331;
jay.miller@dowjones.com