Big Boost In Earnings For Symantec

For the quarter ending Oct. 1, the Cupertino, Calif.-based security vendor posted earnings of $135.6 million, or 38 cents per share, up from $84.3 million, or 24 cents per share, during the same quarter last year.

Revenue was $618 million, 44 percent higher than the company's fiscal second-quarter 2003 revenue of $429 million.

Symantec's revenue gain was driven almost equally by sales of its enterprise and consumer products. For the quarter, Symantec's worldwide enterprise business, including enterprise security, enterprise administration and services, represented 49 percent of total revenue and grew 29 percent year over year. Symantec's consumer business represented 51 percent of total revenue and grew 63 percent year over year, the company said.

"We continue to gain momentum in our consumer and enterprise business segments as customers look for solutions to help them create a balance between the security and availability of their information assets," said John Thompson, chairman and CEO of Symantec, in a statement.

The vendor provided forward-looking guidance for the fiscal third quarter ending Dec. 31, that estimated revenue between $645 million and $665 million. It also announced a two-for-one stock split.