Intuit 3Q net income rises on higher sales

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — Software maker Intuit Inc. said Thursday that its fiscal third-quarter profit rose almost 7 percent as orders from small businesses and consumers helped boost revenue.

Intuit makes the TurboTax income tax preparation program and other accounting software including the popular Quicken and QuickBooks program for households and small businesses.

The company also predicted full-year and fourth-quarter profit roughly in line with Wall Street expectations.

Intuit said its net income was $734 million, or $2.42 per share, for the quarter that ended April 30, after the bulk of tax season had passed. That's up from $688 million, or $2.20 per share, a year earlier. The company said its adjusted net income was $2.51 per share, compared with $2.33 per share in the period last year.

Analysts on average were expecting adjusted net income of $2.48 per share, according to FactSet.

The company's revenue rose to $1.95 billion from $1.85 billion, while analysts were expecting $1.96 billion.

The company said revenue at its small business group rose 11 percent, led demand for employee management and payroll software. Revenue from the consumer tax group rose 3 percent.

During the current quarter, the company expects adjusted net income between 5 cents and 7 cents per share on revenue between $647 million and $662 million. Analysts were expecting adjusted net income of 6 cents per share on $652.4 million in revenue.

For the year, the company now expects adjusted earnings of $2.92 to $2.97 per share, up from $2.91 to $2.97 per share, and revenue of $4.2 billion to $4.22 billion, a range narrowed on both ends from its previous forecast for $4.19 billion to $4.29 billion. Analysts on average were forecasting earnings of $2.93 per share and revenue of $4.22 billion.

Shares of Intuit fell 11 cents to $54.30 after hours. During normal trading Thursday, they lost 69 cents to close at $54.41, and they've traded between $39.87 and $62.33 over the past year.