Symantec: Fiscal 2Q12 Financial Results

Symantec Corp. reported the results of its second quarter of fiscal year 2012, ended Sept. 30, 2011.

GAAP revenue for the fiscal second quarter was $1.681 billion, up 14 percent year-over-year and up 9 percent after adjusting for currency.

"For the fifth consecutive quarter, we met or exceeded all of our key metrics, demonstrating that our strategy is working and that we continue to execute consistently," said Enrique Salem, president and chief executive officer, Symantec. "As customers grapple with the challenges of rapid information growth and more sophisticated attacks as well as the major IT trends of virtualization, mobility and cloud computing, the value proposition we offer to help secure and manage their information is more relevant than ever. We continue to see good demand for our products and services across the portfolio."

"Each of our business segments and regions delivered solid growth. We achieved another quarter of strong year-over-year bookings growth and delivered record September quarter revenue, deferred revenue and earnings per share," said James Beer, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Symantec. "Our results were driven by growth in enterprise security and backup, while our consumer business continues to perform well. We continue to effectively integrate and grow our acquired assets, as demonstrated by the authentication business once again generating strong results for the fifth consecutive quarter."

GAAP Results: GAAP operating margin for the second quarter of fiscal year 2012 was 17.0 percent compared with 14.7 percent for the same quarter last year. GAAP net income for the fiscal second quarter was $182 million compared with net income of $136 million for the year-ago period. GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.24 compared with $0.17 for the year-ago quarter, an increase of 41 percent year-over-year.

GAAP deferred revenue as of Sept. 30, 2011, was $3.452 billion compared with $3.104 billion as of Oct. 1, 2010, up 11 percent on an actual and currency adjusted basis. Cash flow from operating activities for the second quarter of fiscal year 2012 was $308 million compared with $310 million for the year ago period. Symantec ended the quarter with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $2.253 billion.

Non-GAAP Results: Non-GAAP operating margin for the second quarter of fiscal year 2012 was 25.5 percent compared with 25.1 percent for the same quarter last year. Non-GAAP net income for the fiscal second quarter was $295 million compared with $266 million for the year-ago period, an increase of 11 percent year-over-year. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.39 compared with earnings per share of $0.34 for the year-ago quarter, an increase of 15 percent year-over-year.

During the second quarter of fiscal year 2012, Symantec repurchased approximately 16 million shares for $275 million at an average price of $17.30. Symantec had $404 million remaining in the current board authorized stock repurchase plan at the end of the September quarter.

Business Segment and Geographic Highlights
For the September quarter, Symantec’s Consumer segment represented 31 percent of total revenue and increased 11 percent year-over-year (7 percent after adjusting for currency). Consumer segment growth rates exclude the impact of a one-time, $10 million reduction to second quarter fiscal year 2011 Consumer segment revenue.

For the quarter, the Security and Compliance segment represented 29 percent of total revenue and increased 27 percent year-over-year (22 percent after adjusting for currency). The Storage and Server Management segment represented 36 percent of total revenue and increased 9 percent year-over-year (4 percent after adjusting for currency). Services represented 4 percent of total revenue and decreased 16 percent year-over-year (19 percent after adjusting for currency), as expected due to the company’s move to a partner-led consulting model.

International revenue represented 52 percent of total revenue in the second quarter of fiscal year 2012 and increased 17 percent year-over-year (9 percent after adjusting for currency). The Europe, Middle East and Africa region represented 27 percent of total revenue for the quarter and increased 11 percent year-over-year (2 percent after adjusting for currency). The Asia Pacific/Japan revenue for the quarter represented 19 percent of total revenue and increased 26 percent year-over-year (15 percent after adjusting for currency). The Americas, including the United States, Latin America and Canada, represented 54 percent of total revenue and increased 11 percent year-over-year on an actual and currency-adjusted basis.

Acquisition Highlights
For the quarter, the VeriSign security business performed better than expected across all metrics, generating revenue of $89 million. The Clearwell acquisition completed its first full quarter as part of Symantec, posting its largest bookings quarter ever and exceeding expectations with $20 million of revenue.

Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2012 Guidance
Guidance assumes an exchange rate of $1.37 per Euro for the December 2011 quarter versus the actual weighted average rate of $1.35 and an end of period rate of $1.33 per Euro assumption for the December 2010 quarter.

For the third quarter of fiscal year 2012, ending Dec. 30, 2011, revenue is estimated between $1.700 billion and $1.715 billion, up 6 to 7 percent year-over-year as reported.

GAAP diluted earnings per share are estimated between $0.25 and $0.26, up 47 to 53 percent year-over-year as reported. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share are estimated between $0.40 and $0.41, up 14 to 17 percent year-over-year as reported.

Deferred revenue is expected to be in the range of $3.685 billion and $3.705 billion, up 8 to 9 percent year-over-year as reported.