Autodesk Drops on Low Q4 Guidance

Autodesk Inc. on Thursday posted a 47% jump in Q3 profits, saying earnings surged on higher revenue from design products, emerging economies and new licenses, but forecast lower-than-expected Q4 earnings that sent shares 5.2% lower to $45 in after-hours trade. Net income increased to $85 million ($0.35/share), from $58 million ($0.24/share) a year earlier. Adjusted earnings, excluding stock-based compensation expense and the amortization of acquisition related intangibles, totaled $117.1 million ($0.49/share) compared with $86.3 million ($0.35/share) a year ago. Analysts had forecast Q3 EPS $0.47 on revenue of $536.1 million. Autodesk forecast Q4 earnings, excluding items, to range from $0.52-0.54, while analysts on average had been expecting fourth-quarter earnings, before items, of $0.54/share on revenue of $581.8 million. Known for its AutoCAD design software, Autodesk said revenue rose 18% to $538 million. The company also predicted 2009 EPS of $1.84-$1.90 and adjusted EPS of $2.20-$2.26. The company said it planned to buy Robobat, a privately held engineering software company based in Grenoble, France, that specializes in analysis, design, and steel and concrete detailing software for about $42.5 million (originally $33 million in September, 2006) in cash, subject to a working capital adjustment. The deal is expected to decrease targeted net EPS by $0.01 in both fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2009.

Sources: Reuters, CNET News I, II
Commentary: Autodesk Jumps Post-Earnings: Is Bullish Outlook Confidence Or Folly? • Autodesk Chides Street For Faulty Channel Checks
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