Fortinet Beats Wall Street Estimates

Network security vendor Fortinet reported Tuesday a 29 percent jump in revenue, beating Wall Street estimates and giving its stock a boost in afterhours trading.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company, which has set a goal of becoming a billion-dollar company by 2014, said revenue for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 was $120.9 million, compared to $93.6 million the same period a year ago.

Financial analysts polled by Thomson Financial Network had predicted revenue of $116.5 million. Fortinet stock rose $1.99, or 8.7 percent, in afterhours trading.

Net income for the quarter was $16.5 million, or 10 cents a share, slightly higher than the $16.1 million, or 10 cents a share, a year ago. On a non-GAAP basis, earnings were 14 cents a share, beating Wall Street estimates of 12 cents a share.

Fortinet revenue was almost evenly split between product and services, which grew 40 percent and 27 percent, respectively. Ken Xie, president and chief executive of the company, said sales rose in the enterprise and the small and medium-sized business markets. Fortinet also increased sales to service providers.

"Demand for network security solutions remained robust," Xie said in a joint statement with Chief Financial Officer Ken Goldman, who described the quarter as a "very strong finish to 2011 with exceptional execution across all geographies and verticals."

During Fortinet's annual partner conference in October, Greg Fitzgerald, vice president of global marketing, said the company expected to grow by 30 percent year over year, becoming more competitive against larger vendors Cisco and Juniper.