Symantec profits take a dive

Weaker sales blamed for the dip

Symantec is warning that profits for its third quarter financial results will be lower than expected when it files its full accounts on 24 January 2007.

The news has resulted in a 13 per cent drop in the company’s share value. This is the second consecutive quarter that the company has failed to meet financial expectations.

In its preliminary accounts, the anti-virus and security software maker said that earnings per share will be $0.10 - 11 cents, down from a previous forecast of $0.14 - 15 cents. Revenue for the third quarter is expected to come in at $1.29bn to $1.31bn compared to prior guidance of $1.315bn to $1.345bn.

“Clearly, these results are not what we expected for the quarter,” said John W Thompson, Symantec chairman and chief executive officer, speaking to financial analysts.

“We experienced weaker than expected performance in our Data Center Management business. Our recognised revenue for the quarter was also impacted by a greater proportion of enterprise maintenance contracts, which resulted in higher deferrals than we expected. Additionally, with the implementation of our new ERP system, we incurred higher costs than expected.”

The company has also forecast weaker fourth quarter and year-end performance.