Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX) reported its results for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2012 last night after the New York markets closed. Revenue was $822.1 million, up 1.6% from the preceding quarter of 2012 and up 1.2% from the corresponding fiscal quarter of 2011.
Non-GAAP profit was $115.7 million ($0.70 per share) compared with $111.2 million ($0.62 per share) in the corresponding quarter of 2011. Amdocs's GAAP profit for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 was $98.0 million ($0.60 per share), up from $87.4 million ( $0.49 per share) in the corresponding quarter.
Revenue and non-GAAP profit were in line with analysts' expectations.
Amdocs announced that the board of directors had authorized a share repurchase plan of up to $500 million of ordinary shares at the company's discretion. The plan has no expiration date and is in addition to the current authorization program, which, as of September 30, 2012, provided up to $203 million of remaining repurchase authority through February 2013. The board also approved a $0.13 per share quarterly cash dividend to be paid on January 18, 2013
Amdocs has free cash flow of $109 million for the fourth fiscal quarter, and a 12-month backlog of $2.79 billion at the end of the fourth fiscal quarter, up $30 million from the end of the preceding quarter.
In first quarter fiscal 2013 guidance, Amdocs expects revenue of $810-$840 million and non-GAAP earnings-per-share of $0.68-$0.74. This reflects revenue growth of 2-5% and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share growth of 5-8%, including the impact of anticipated share repurchase activity over the course of the fiscal year.
In fiscal year 2012 as a whole, Amdocs saw revenue rise by 2.2% to $3.2 billion while non-GAAP profit totaled $460 million ($2.71 per share) up from $434.6 million ($2.33 per share) in fiscal 2011. The company's GAAP profit in fiscal 2012 was $391.4 million ($2.31 per share) up from $346.7 million ($1.86 per share) in fiscal 2011.
Amdocs CEO Eli Gelman said, "We concluded fiscal 2012 with another strong quarter, reflecting ongoing stabilization at AT&T, double-digit growth in our emerging markets and consistent operating margin execution. Underscoring our commitment to returning excess cash, we repurchased an additional $106 million of our ordinary shares in the fourth fiscal quarter, and, as of September 30, 2012, we had acquired a total of 25% of our shares that were outstanding in April 2010. Overall, as a result of good new sales execution, a stable operating margin and our repurchase activity, we grew non-GAAP diluted earnings per share by 16% in fiscal 2012."
He added, "North American demand trends improved in the fourth quarter, with the region returning to sequential growth. We believe that announced M&A activity among operators in North America may drive long-term opportunity for Amdocs; however, it also adds some uncertainty to our 2013 outlook as consummation of such deals remains subject to contingencies. Emerging markets continued to be a source of strength for year-over-year growth and we expect this trend to continue in 2013. We also achieved stable activity levels in Europe in the fourth quarter to cap a strong fiscal 2012 in the region, although we remain aware of the challenging economic conditions heading in to 2013."
He also announced that Sprint had agreed to expand and extend its managed services relationship with Amdocs through 2021, including the addition of its Virgin Mobile-branded subscribers to the Amdocs platform. He said that, "Agreements with new and existing customers, such as Globe in the Philippines, TIM Brasil in Latin America and, just announced today, VimpelCom in Russia, should provide for further growth in the emerging markets in fiscal 2013. While the year ahead carries macroeconomic and industry specific risks, we believe we are competitively well positioned to achieve sustained growth in 2013."
Amdocs share price fell 0.09% on the NYSE yesterday to $33.28, giving a market cap of $5.49 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 7, 2012
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