Computer Sciences Earnings: Swings Up, Topping Expectations

S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE:CSC) climbed to a profit in the second quarter and beat Wall Street’s expectations in the process. Computer Sciences Corporation offers information technology and professional services to commercial and government markets, specializing in the application of complex IT problems.

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Computer Sciences Corporation Earnings Cheat Sheet

Results: Reported a profit of $130 million (83 cents per diluted share) in the quarter. Computer Sciences Corporation had a net loss of $2.88 billion or a loss $18.56 per share in the year-earlier quarter.

Revenue: Fell 2.9% to $3.85 billion from the year-earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: Computer Sciences Corporation beat the mean analyst estimate of 47 cents per share. It fell short of the average revenue estimate of $4.1 billion.

Quoting Management: “Our second quarter results reflect continued progress made on our contract management performance and cost takeout program. As a result, operating margins improved across all three lines of business when compared with the prior year and we are raising our fiscal year 2013 EPS targets to $2.30 to $2.50,” said Mike Lawrie, President and CEO. “During the quarter, we also strengthened our offering portfolio through the acquisition of a premiere software development company that specializes in big data, analytics and advanced applications. This action is consistent with our strategy of being a leader in next generation technology solutions and services. We are also taking steps to divest certain non-core assets such as a smaller business in Italy. There is much work to be completed but we are encouraged with the early results of our turnaround program.”

Key Stats:

The company has beaten estiamtes for two quarters in a row. In the first quarter, it topped expectations with net income of 26 cents versus a mean estimate of net income of 20 cents per share.

Revenue has dropped in the past two quarters. In the first quarter, revenue declined 1.9% to $3.96 billion from the year-earlier quarter.

Looking Forward: Expectations for the company’s next-quarter performance are higher than they were ninety days ago. Over the past three months, the average estimate for the third quarter has risen to 63 cents per share from 55 cents. For the fiscal year, the average estimate has moved up from $1.86 a share to $2.17 over the last ninety days.

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(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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