Autodesk's Net Drops by 60%, As Sales in Europe Slow Down
April 28, 2011
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. -- Autodesk Inc. reported a 60% plunge in fiscal second-quarter earnings, largely triggered by a ``dramatic'' slowdown in software sales in Europe. The company said net income for the quarter ended April 12, 2011 to $10.6 million, or 22 cents a share, from $26.3 million, or 52 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales declined 8% to $128.7 million from $140.7 million. Excluding an acquisition charge of $3.2 million, or eight cents a share, Autodesk said it would have earned $14.3 million, or 30 cents a share. That is still far lower than Wall Street's estimates. The consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by First Call Corp. was 41 cents a share, excluding the charge. Autodesk announced its results after stock markets closed Thursday. Its shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market closed at $20.50, up 50 cents. In after-hours trading, the stock declined to $18.25, according to Instinet Inc.. Autodesk is best-known for a program called AutoCAD, which is used by architects, engineers and other professionals. Besides poor market conditions in Europe, the company said it was hurt by a ``cyclical'' slowing of AutoCAD sales. The company also said it approved the repurchase of as much as five million shares of stock from time to time, depending on market conditions.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
