Informatica shares soar after beating estimates

Software company Informatica shares rise after 4Q earnings and revenue top estimates

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (AP) -- Software company Informatica Corp. soared more than 10 percent in after-hours trading Thursday, after reporting results that beat analysts' expectations.

Profit was $31.1 million, or 28 cents per share, for the fourth quarter, down 27 percent from $42.4 million a year ago. After stripping out one-time charges, earnings worked out to 41 cents per share. That beat the 37 cents that analysts polled by FactSet predicted. Some of the decline came because the company spent more on research and development, sales and marketing, and other expenses.

Revenue rose to $234.7 million, up 3 percent from a year ago. Wall Street expected $217.3 million.

CEO Sohaib Abbasi said the Redwood City, Calif., company was trying to take advantage of economies of scale. Cloud computing and other changes in technology represent "promising new opportunities," he said.

Informatica also announced that it had secured 97.7 percent of the outstanding shares of German-listed Heiler Software. The announcement wasn't a surprise: Informatica had announced in December that it had secured 97.6 percent of Heiler's shares. But the development does help clear the way for Informatica to finish combining with Heiler.

The company's shares ended regular trading up 37 cents to $33.24. They rose $2.67, or 8 percent, to $35.91 in extended trading.