NICE Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: NICE; TASE: NICE) ended 2017 with results at the upper end of its guidance, and a net profit higher than the consensus analysts' estimate. The company, which provides risk management and CRM solutions, reported fourth quarter 2017 revenue up 21.1% to $392.2 million compared with $323.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2016. Full year 2017 revenue increased 31.2% to $1,332.2 million compared with $1,015.5 million for the full year 2016, among other things thanks to the acquisition of InContact, which was completed in 2016.
Revenue from products grew 4.1%, while revenue from services grew 4.5%, with cloud services making a great leap forward. Revenue from cloud services rose from $85.5 million in 2016 to $361 million in 2017.
On a GAAP basis, NICE posted a net profit of $79.4 million for the fourth quarter and $143.3 million for full year 2017, 22.6% more than in 2016.
Full year operating cash flow reached $394.7 million, and at the end of 2017 the company had cash and cash equivalents of $525.1 million, and total debt of $447.6 million, mostly incurred to buy InContact.
On a non-GAAP basis, NICE reported a fourth quarter net profit of $84.5 million, which compares with $72.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2016. Full year 2017 non-GAAP net profit was $254.5 million, up from $220.6 million in 2016.
Fully diluted earnings per share increased 14.4% to $1.35 in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared with $1.18 for the fourth quarter of 2016. Full year 2017 non-GAAP fully diluted earnings per share increased 13.6% to $4.10, compared with $3.61 for the full year 2016.
In its guidance, the company said it expected first quarter 2018 non-GAAP total revenue to be in a range of $328 million to $338 million. First quarter 2018 non-GAAP fully diluted earnings per share are expected to be in a range of $0.97 to $1.03.
Full year 2018 non-GAAP total revenue is expected to be in a range of $1,430 million to $1,454 million. Full year 2018 non-GAAP fully diluted earnings per share are expected to be in a range of $4.40 to $4.60.
NICE CEO Barak Eilam said, "We are confident about the opportunities ahead. Our addressable market has increased five-fold; cloud, which now represents approximately 30% of our total revenue, is expected to grow to more than 50% of our total revenue in the years to come; analytics, which has fueled our growth will continue to expand with the addition of artificial intelligence; and, we now have the platform and an effective go-to-market to address all segments of the market, both large and small enterprises.
“We are stepping into 2018 with continued momentum. Furthermore, we expect to exit 2018 with a cloud revenue run rate of half a billion dollars and to continue to grow our operating income at a double digit rate.”
NICE Systems has market cap of $5.2 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 15, 2018
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