Intuit Loss In Line, Revenue Beats; Says Systems Weren't Breached

(RTTNews) - Intuit Inc (INTU) on Thursday reported a loss for the second quarter that widened from a year ago, hurt mainly by stock-based compensation expense and other costs. However, the loss was in line with Wall Street estimates, while revenues surpassed expectations.

The accounting software maker detailed a weak outlook for the third quarter, and reaffirmed its expectations for the full year 2015.

Intuit, beset by allegations of fraudulent tax filings, said there were no indications that its systems were breached, and that it pursues measures to address the issue.

Intuit shares gained about 5 percent in after-hours trade on the Nasdaq.

Earlier this month, Intuit temporarily halted all state filings, after fraudulent returns were filed using TurboTax, possibly by criminals to obtain refunds. The company said it has been working with third-party consultants to assess its security systems, and has secured TurboTax by incorporating multi-factor authentication.

Intuit, based in Mountain View, California, reported a second-quarter net loss of $66 million or $0.23 per share, compared with a loss of $37 million or $0.13 per share last year.

Excluding items, adjusted loss for the quarter was $0.06 per share, compared with a profit of $0.02 per share a year ago.

On average, 17 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of $0.13 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Intuit reported fourth-quarter revenues of $808 million, up 3 percent from $782 million in the prior year. Fourteen analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $786.6 million for the quarter.

Total expenses for the quarter rose to $906 million from $828 million a year ago.

Intuit's products include the personal finance programs Quicken and TurboTax, and small business accounting program QuickBooks. The company added more than 100,000 QuickBooks Online subscribers versus the previous quarter, bringing total paying subscribers to 841,000.

For the third quarter, Intuit expects adjusted earnings of $2.70 to $2.75 per share and revenues of $2.08 billion to $2.15 billion. Analysts currently expect earnings of $2.88 per share on revenues of $2.23 billion for the quarter.

For the fourth quarter, the company projects expects adjusted loss of $0.06 to $0.08 per share on revenues of $720 million to $745 million.

For the full year 2015, Intuit continues to expect adjusted earnings of of $2.45 to $2.50 per share on revenues of $4.28 billion to $4.38 billion. Analysts currently expect earnings of $2.47 per share on revenues of $4.34 billion.

Intuit closed Thursday at $91.11, up $1.35 or 1.50%, on a volume of 2.5 million shares. In after hours, the stock gained $4.39 or 4.82% at $95.50. In the past year, the stock has traded in the range of $72.44 - $95.84.