We’ve been analyzing the results of other companies for the year of 2005, we’ve seen trends from customers and partners, chief executive Gil Schwed said. While there’s a good level of interest and demand, we’ve found the industry we’re facing today has slowed down in growth.
The firm announced that 2006 revenue will be $580m to $610m, compared to analyst consensus estimates of $639.45m. Its first-quarter non-GAAP earnings per share will be $0.30 to $0.31, compared to the estimate of $0.33. For the year, non-GAAP EPS is predicted to be $1.37 to $1.45, compared to the expected $1.43.
The company blamed the US blocking of its acquisition of Sourcefire Inc, a shift in sales from products to subscriptions, and the generally softness in the security business. Schwed tried to elaborate in a conference call.
One challenge in the security market is that over the last few years there’s been a tremendous amount new investments, new technologies… he said. Sometimes it’s just hard for customers to sort out what is thing they need and how much need to spend for it, there’s just too much of it.
Vice chairman Jerry Ungermann added: Security is still a very important part of the budget, but that doesn’t always translate into buying more product every quarter.
