clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Symantec Falls on Sales Miss, Weak Guidance

Ahead of a split later this year, currency effects are hurting Symantec's results.

Shares of security software company Symantec fell by nearly 3 percent in after-hours trading as the company reported third-quarter revenue and guidance for the coming year that were below the estimates of analysts, in part because of the effects of the strong U.S. dollar.

Symantec fell to $25 after closing at $25.97 during the regular session. The company posted a per-share profit of 53 cents, beating the consensus view of 49 cents. Sales at $1.64 billion were below consensus of $1.7 billion.

The company said it expects revenue for the current quarter in the range of $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion, lower than the $1.6 billion expected. For the year it sees sales of $6.5 billion to $6.6 billion, which is at the low end of the forecast range. It said its outlook is colored by the effect of currency exchange rates that are hurting many U.S.-based companies that do business internationally. A strong U.S. dollar is bad for companies when they are paid in other international currencies.

Separately the company said it has authorized a $1 billion share buyback. The company has previously bought back shares worth $10 billion over 10 years.

Symantec announced last year its intention to split into two companies, one dedicated to security software and services, and one dedicated to information management, which will be called Veritas Technologies. On a conference call the company said Veritas will be operational as an independent company by October.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.