Declines in licence sales and a larger proportion of ratable subscription sales caused revenue and EPS to come in below security software maker Symantec’s expectations for the fourth quarter.
“However, a greater amount of our billings went to the balance sheet, driving record deferred revenue,” said James Beer, executive vice-president and chief financial officer, Symantec.
“In fiscal year 2012, our business generated US$1.9bn of cash flow from operations, up 6pc from fiscal year 2011, driven by record results for each of our key financial metrics and across all of our geographies.”
Symantec reported GAAP revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter ended 30 March 2012 totalled US$1.68bn, flat year-over-year and up 1pc after adjusting for currency. For the fiscal year, GAAP revenue reached US$6.73bn, up 9pc year-over-year and up 6pc after adjusting for currency.
“We posted 9pc growth for fiscal year 2012, driven by strength in our backup, Software-as-a- Service, data loss prevention, and managed security services offerings. In addition, we generated strong deferred revenue and cash flow, despite a weaker than expected fourth quarter,” said Enrique Salem, president and chief executive officer, Symantec.
“We are encouraged as customers move towards cloud delivered services, and are excited about the roadmap we’ve developed for fiscal year 2013. We have many of the foundational elements in place to continue growing our business.”
