Sybase, Inc. (Nasdaq: SYBS) was up 22 percent Friday after reporting fourth quarter earnings of 32 cents a share, beating First Call's consensus estimate of 21 cents a share on the strength of software sales to websites for big businesses and the market for sending data over wireless networks.
Shares in the database software company were up 4 1/8 to 23. The stock has been on the rise since Sybase beat estimates in its previous quarter.
Sybase also said earnings for the year ended December 31, 1999 were 76 cents a share, topping analysts expectations of 62 cents a share.
Net income for the fourth quarter of 1999 was $26 million as compared to a net loss of $15 million for the same period in 1998. Revenues increased by 9.7 percent to $237 million in the fourth quarter from $216 million in the third quarter of 1999. Cash and investments at the year's end were $353 million, as compared to $250 million in 1998.
The company said the three areas driving its growth were the enterprise portal market, the wireless and mobile arena; and e-Business in vertical markets, including financial services, telecommunications and media, healthcare and government markets. Sybase has continued to focus on the enterprise portal market, which it has targeted since a strategy shift last August.
Sybase's recent acquisitions include that of Data Warehouse Networks, and Home Financial Network, with which it intends to form a new company targeted at the financial services community.
Discuss: Sybase jumps 22 percent on strong 4Q
Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion.