Intuit Posts Smaller Than Expected Loss

Software designer Intuit (INTU) posted a smaller-than-expected FQ1 loss Thursday, on strong sales of its accounting and tax preparation software. Intuit net loss of $20.8 million ($0.06/share) was narrower than last year's loss of $58.9 million ($0.17/share). Revenue jumped 27% to $444.9 million. Adjusted EPS of -$0.10, vs. -$0.12 a year ago, was stronger than the $0.12/share loss on revenue of $437.7 million analysts polled by Reuters expected. Looking ahead, Intuit expects 11-13% revenue growth in Q2 to $833-848 million, and EPS of $0.34-0.36. Analysts had been looking for EPS of $0.38 on revenue of $850 million. "With the launch of TurboTax for the 2007 tax year coming next week, we're looking forward to another great year for Intuit," CEO Steve Bennett said (press release, earnings call transcript). In a post-earnings note, Citi analyst Brent Thill told investors, "With potential for a challenging enterprise IT spending environment in ’08, we believe Intuit offers a relatively more insulated story with valuation support and high exposure to more stable consumer/small business spending. We believe Intuit will have limited negative surprises based on consistent track record, improvements in consumer tax strategy for ’08, and diversification of product lines for small businesses." Shares gained 1.5% in extended trading Thursday.

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