Symantec Corp. expects its revenue to trail analysts’ estimates

Symantec Corp. announced that it expects a revenue that trails some analysts estimates amid declines in the personal-computer market and the emergence of advanced hacking threats influenced on traditional antivirus software demand.

Symantec Corp. made an official statement, explaining that its fiscal fourth quarter sales are expected to be from 1.62 to 1.66 billion dollars. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, the analysts had forecast sales estimated to 1.64 billion dollars.

Steve Bennett, who took the position of Chief Executive Officer of the company in July 2012 after Enrique Salem, laid about 1,000 employees off in 2013. He is currently facing the increased competition of some new companies such as FireEye Inc. and Palo Alto Networks Inc., which technology is designed in a way that gives users the opportunity of dealing with more modern attacks.

Mr. Bennett also decided to focus on new business, which was one of the main reasons why Symantecs sales division was reorganized and some old products were eliminated as a record decrease of PCs demand hurt the companys sales of antivirus products.

In an interview, Mr. Bennett said that Symantecs restructuring is complete and there are no other major changes planned. The companys Chief Executive explained that Symantec is still recovering from the overhaul of the sales team. This process involved assigning employees to new territories and products, temporarily depressing revenue. He also said: “Im very pleased with the numbers were delivering given the kind of transformation were undergoing. Even though were a little short on revenue, were poised to deliver faster growth for the future.”

One of the analysts working for FBR Capital Markets in New York – Daniel Ives, said for Bloomberg: “The company has major growth challenges on the horizon. While the company is doing a good job of cutting costs, growth remains elusive.”

According to data compiled by Bloomberg, the net income of Symantec for the fiscal third quarter ended December the 27th increased by 31% from 216 to 283 million dollars. The companys sales decreased by 4.8% to 1.71 billion dollars, beating the average analysts estimate of 1.65 billion dollars.

According to the researcher Gartner Inc., the security software and equipment market will rise by 9.1% to 71.7 billion in 2014. On the other hand, the revenue of Symantec Corp. is forecast to decrease by 4% this fiscal year.

According to CNN Money, the current share price of Symantec Corp. is 3.65% up, and its one-year return rate is 2.42% up. The 20 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Symantec Corp. have a median target of 26.00, with a high estimate of 33.00 and a low estimate of 18.00. The median estimate represents a +7.66% increase from the last price of 24.15.