DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Intuit Inc.'s (INTU) fiscal first-quarter loss widened due to a gain in the year-earlier quarter.
Also, the maker of tax-preparation and accounting software issued a fiscal second-quarter view below analysts' estimates and slightly lowered its fiscal 2009 earnings guidance.
For the quarter ended Oct. 31, the company said its loss widened to $52.1 million, or 16 cents a share, from a year-earlier loss of $20.8 million, or 6 cents a share.
The year-earlier quarter included a $24 million pretax gain from the sale of outsourced payroll assets and a $27 million gain from discontinued operations.
Excluding stock-based compensation expenses, acquisition-related costs and other items, the company's most recent quarterly non-GAAP loss was 9 cents a share.
Intuit, the maker of TurboTax and personal-finance software Quicken, typically posts a seasonal loss in its fiscal first quarter, as the company depends heavily on sales during the tax season.
Revenue grew 8.2% to $481.4 million. Product revenue increased by less than 1%, while revenue from services increased 15%.
In September, Intuit backed its first-quarter forecast for a non-GAAP loss of 11 cents to 14 cents a share on revenue of $480 million to $492 million.
Looking ahead, the company expects fiscal second-quarter earnings of 40 cents to 42 cents a share, on a non-GAAP basis, on revenue of $860 million to $880 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were looking for 46 cents a share and $900 million, respectively.
For fiscal 2009, Intuit lowered its non-GAAP earnings forecast to a range of $1.82 to $1.89 a share on revenue of $3.26 billion to $3.38 billion. In September, it projected $1.86 to $1.90 on revenue of $3.35 billion to $3.43 billion.
On Friday, Wedbush Morgan lowered its investment rating on Intuit to hold from buy, citing a "below-trend" year in 2009 affecting payment, joining a growing chorus of firms that expect lower sales and growth for software companies amid a slowdown in corporate information-technology spending.
Shares of Intuit, which last week dropped to their lowest price since 2005, were up 4.4% to $21.45 in after-hours trading.
-By John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5285; john.kell@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 19, 2008 16:53 ET (21:53 GMT)

Publié le 19 novembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones