Symantec results better than expected

Symantec has reported better than expected results, with revenue going up four per cent year-on-year.

Revenue hit $1.6 billion (1 billion) in the third quarter ending 31 December, above Wall Street's target of $1.58 billion.

The security giant said consumer, backup and data loss prevention were to thank for the positive third-quarter results, alongside "stability in the storage management business."

Security and compliance revenue went up 13 per cent, whilst consumer revenue rose four per cent.

Net income had still fallen, however, as for the quarter it stood at $132 million - a drop from $301 million seen in the same quarter last year.

"In addition, our recent acquisitions are performing above expectations," said Enrique Salem, president and chief executive (CEO) at Symantec.

The VeriSign security acquisition produced $48 million of revenue, whilst the PGP and GuardianEdge acquisitions generated revenue of $18 million, Symantec said.

"Our focus on helping customers secure and manage their information and identities in an increasingly mobile, cloud-based and virtualised world positions us well for long-term growth," Salem added.

The results will no doubt boost confidence at Symantec, which had seen its shares underperform in the past year.

"In the December quarter, we delivered on all of our key financial metrics," said James Beer, executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) at Symantec.

"We continued to generate substantial cash flow from operations and achieved record deferred revenue, as a result of strong bookings performance and the contribution from our recent acquisitions."