Security silverbacks post contrasting results

Symantec suffered a 13 per cent sales decline

McAfee upstaged larger rival Symantec as the security silverbacks released their latest quarterly results.

While McAfee logged double-digit growth and topped expectations, Symantec disappointed Wall Street as it posted a decline in sales and warned that corporate customers were focusing their spending on shorter-term contracts.

Number-two security outfit McAfee hauled in $469m (£283m) sales in its second quarter to 30 June, up 18 per cent year on year and five per cent quarter on quarter. Net profits fell 40 per cent to $28.7m.

McAfee’s corporate sales rose 21 per cent to $291m as it rang up 424 deals worth over $100,000.

“Our continued market share gains prove customers and partners choose McAfee for security leadership,” said McAfee chief executive Dave DeWalt.

But while McAfee was beating its chest, the security industry’s 800-pound gorilla, Symantec, looked off-colour.

For its fiscal first quarter 2010 to 3 July, NASDAQ-listed Symantec saw non-GAAP revenue fall 13 per cent year on year to $1.44bn. From that it generated GAAP profits of $73m, down from $172m a year earlier.

Two of its four segments – Storage and Server Management and Security and Compliance – saw double-digit revenue drops. Services fell seven per cent and consumer four per cent.

Enrique Salem, chief executive at Symantec, stated: “We are pleased with the performance of the consumer business and our award-winning Norton 2009 products. On the enterprise side, some customers focused their spending on shorter-term contracts or maintenance renewals, resulting in fewer new licence deals, but stronger deferred revenue.”