Tibco flies past 2Q forecasts

Tibco Software had no trouble topping the Street estimate in its second quarter Thursday, raking in $8.5 million, or 4 cents a share, on sales of $54 million.

First Call Corp. consensus expected the e-business software provider to earn a penny a share in the quarter.

Ahead of the earnings report, Tibco (Nasdaq: TIBX) shares closed off 2 9/16 to 83.

The $54 million in sales marks a 157 percent jump from the year-ago quarter when it lost $3.2 million, or 5 cents a share, on sales of $21 million.

"More and more companies are realizing they need industrial-strength infrastructure software to operate as an e-business," said CEO Vivek Ranadive in a prepared release. "Our leadership in the infrastructure software market is demonstrated by our continued revenue growth and the addition of new world-class customers and partners."

Tibco's upside surprise was fueled by a 200 percent surge in licensing revenue from the year-ago quarter, jumping to $37 million from $12 million.

Its shares moved up to an all-time high of 147 in March after falling to a low of 6 9/16 in August.

The stock split 3-for-1 in February.

Analysts were expecting a profit of 3 cents a share in the fiscal year, a figure that will likely be raised in the next few weeks.

Four of the five analysts following the stock rate it a "strong buy."