Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX) posted higher revenue and profits for its first fiscal quarter of 2012, in line with its guidance but missing the analysts' revenue consensus. The company predicts essentially no change for the second fiscal quarter and only slow growth for the rest of the year.
Revenue rose 4.1% to $807 million from $775.2 million for the corresponding fiscal quarter of 2011. The results were at the lower end of the company's guidance of $805-825 million, and below the analysts' consensus of $815.9 million. The company said that currency fluctuations cost it $6 million.
GAAP-based net profit rose to $92.7 million ($0.53 per share) for the first fiscal quarter $73.4 million for the corresponding quarter, and non-GAAP net profit rose to $111.3 million ($0.64 per share) from $99.8 million. The results were in the middle of the guidance of $0.61-0.67 per share, and met the analysts' consensus of $0.64 per share.
In its guidance for the second quarter, Amdocs predicts $0.62-0.68 non-GAAP earnings per share on $800-820 million revenue for the second fiscal quarter, essentially unchanged for the current quarter. Amdocs CFO Tamar Rapaport-Dagim expects 5-6% growth on a constant currency basis, and 4-5% growth taking currency fluctuations into account. She said that revenue growth will depend on the pace of recovery at AT&T Inc., as it is the largest source of variance in the guidance range.
Amdocs also raised its fiscal year non-GAAP earnings per share growth forecast to 11-13% from 10-12%, taking the repurchase of shares into account. It also predicts that its non-GAAP operating margin will remain unchanged at 16-17%.
Amdocs' free cash flow was $121 million for the first fiscal quarter, and it had $925 million in cash and equivalents at the end of 2011, after buying back $140 million worth of shares during the quarter. The company has bought back $1.2 billion worth of shares since launching the buyback in April 2010.
Amdocs' 12-month orders backlog rose by $20 million during the quarter to $2.69 billion at the end of 2011.
Amdocs CEO Eli Gelman said, "Our results benefitted from strong performance in the emerging markets and Europe, somewhat tempered by slower spending at AT&T in conjunction with the cancellation of the merger with T-Mobile USA." He added, "The new business in Latin America further establishes Amdocs as a leader in providing next-generation customer experience systems in one of the fastest growing emerging markets."
Gelman also mentioned today's announcement of a multiyear contract extension with Comcast Cable Communications Inc. The company did not disclose the size of the deal.
Amdocs's share price rose 1.1% yesterday to $29.77, giving a market cap of $5.2 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 2, 2012
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