Mountain View, Calif. (Aug. 22, 2003) -- Buoyed by growth in its accounting and small-business applications, software maker Intuit Inc. narrowed its loss for the fourth quarter and posted revenue gains of 31 percent for the quarter and 26 percent for the year.
The company attributed the growth to strong performance in its QuickBooks, Small Business Services, TurboTax and Professional Accounting Solutions, as well as acquisitions.
Intuit reported a loss of $24.7 million, or 12 cents a share, for the quarter ended July 31, compared to a loss of $31.8 million, or 15 cents a share, the prior year. Revenue for the quarter rose 31 percent to $245.1 million.
Revenue for the year grew 26 percent to $1.65 billion. Net income for the year grew 145 percent to $343.0 million, or $1.63 per share, up from $140.2 million ($0.64 per share) in fiscal 2002. Last year’s results included acquisition related charges of $181.4 million. This year’s results also benefited from a $71.0 million after-tax gain on the sale of its Japanese subsidiary.
Intuit forecast revenue of $225 million to $235 million for its first quarter, a gain of 6 percent to 10 percent over the previous year. It also expects a loss of 29 cents to 33 cents a share, and excluding items of 26 cents to 30 cents a share. For the full year, the company reaffirmed its guidance of $1.85 billion to $1.95 billion in revenue, or year-over-year growth of 12 percent to 18 percent. It expects net income of $1.47 to $1.57 a share, down 4 percent to 10 percent from the just-ended year. It noted that the 2003 fiscal year included nearly $80 million of income and gains from discontinued operations. Intuit expects operating income to rise 31 percent to 40 percent next year to $449 million to $479 million.
-- WebCPA staff
