All systems go as Symantec avoids PC woe

Symantec beat analysts expectations during Q1, thanks largely to reduced costs following a decline in PC sales.

The security software provider reported revenue of US$1.71bn during the period ending June 28, representing a 2% rise year-over-year.

Net income during Q1 came in at $157m, compared with $160m the year previous.

Following job cuts within the company due to a shrinking PC market, it appears such efforts have cushioned the financial blow.

“I’m proud of the team’s performance despite the ongoing work to right-size and transform the company," said Steve Bennett, president and CEO, Symantec.

"I’m also pleased that we delivered better than expected results.

“While the hard work is just beginning, I’m confident we have the right team in place to execute our multi-year roadmaps, implement our critical go-to-market changes and continue to make progress on our successful transformation.”

Looking closer to home, Symantec's Asia Pacific/Japan revenue represented 18% of total revenue, decreasing 5% year-over-year.

“We achieved better than expected results driven by strength in our backup, information security and endpoint security businesses,” said James Beer, executive vice president and CFO, Symantec.

“During a period of planning and significant resource reallocation, we executed well and grew organic revenue by 3%.

"The magnitude of change we are undertaking is substantial and so as we move increasingly into the implementation phase of our transformation, we remain cautious on our outlook for the coming quarter.”

As a result of the encouraging results, shares in the company rose to $25.95, leaving them up 85% since Bennett was handed the CEO role in July of last year.