Cognos, Jabil Report In-Line With Expectations

Business software vendor Cognos (COGN) reported sales for its fiscal first quarter ended May 31 that were slightly shy of estimates, at $236.7 million versus a consensus expectation of $237.25 million, though profit per share, excluding some costs, was in line with estimates at 32 cents a share.

Cognos chief executive Rob Ashe said he was “pleased” with the results in a seasonally slow quarter for the company, and that Cognos 8 Business Intelligence and the company’s financial programs “performed very well.”

The forecast is more or less in line with analysts’ expectations: sales will be in a range of $245 to $255 million, which could top analysts’ expectations of $251 million, while profit excluding some costs looks light, in a range of 34 to 39 cents a share, below analysts’ forecast of 41 cents a share. For the full fiscal year ending February, 2008, the company expects sales of $1.065 to $1.085, which could top an estimate of $1.07 billion, according to Thomson Financial. Similarly, the full-year forecast calls for $1.98 to $2.05 a share in profit this year, with analysts expecting $2.02.

Contract electronics manufacturer Jabil Circuit (JBL), which gets paid a fee to assemble phones, computers and the like, reported results for its fiscal third quarter ended May 31 that were in line with estimates, reporting 23 cents in non-GAAP income, excluding stock-based compensation and restructuring charges, on sales of $3 billion. Analysts had been projecting 21 cents on sales of $2.95 billion.

That non-GAAP profit is a plunge of more than 50% from the company’s earnings in the same period a year earlier, while sales rose 15% year-over-year. No forecast was provided.

Cognos shares were up slightly in after hours, at $39.62 after rising .64% in normal trading. Jabil shares were jumping, up 7% to $21.20 after closing up 2.28% in normal trading.