Intuit Inc, Mountain View, California financial software vendor, reported fourth-quarter and yearly results that were marginally better than Wall Street expected. Net loss for the quarter was $19.8m on revenue up 10% at $94.1m, down from a net loss of $22m a year ago. For the year, net income was $68.3m, or $1.44 per share, on revenue up 11% at $598.9m, against a net loss of $20.7m last year. Fourth-quarter results include a restructuring charge of $10.4m and 1997 yearly results include a one-time gain of $71.2m on the sale of Intuit Services Corp last September (CI No 3,000). The net loss for continuing operations would have been $8.0m – or $0.17 pershare – for the quarter, when First Call was expecting a loss of $0.18. Yearly net income from continuing operations came in at $37.9m – or $0.80 per share, when analysts expected $0.78. The company was quick to point out that results for its July and October quarter are typically unimpressive, as more than 100% of yearly profits come in the quarters around income tax season in the US. In after- hours trading, Intuit shares fell $1.125 to $27.50.
