FileNet surges on earnings, outlook

FileNet shares shot up $3.94, or 25 percent, to $19.69 Thursday after it easily topped analysts' estimates in its third quarter and upped its sales and earnings estimates for the fiscal year.

FileNet (Nasdaq: FILE) posted a profit of $10.2 million, or 28 cents a share, on sales of $99.1 million.

First Call Corp. consensus pegged it for a profit of 23 cents a share in the quarter.

The $99.1 million in sales marks a 16 percent improvement from the year-ago quarter when it earned $4.6 million, or 14 cents a share, on sales of $85.5 million.

"This quarter was an outstanding one for our business by any measure, and it marks FileNet's eighth consecutive quarter of exceeding expectations," said CEO Lee Roberts in a prepared release. "We remain positive about this market sector, our growth, and our focus on providing large, well-established companies with the platform and process technology they need to aggressively exploit the opportunities afforded by the Web."

Roberts said the company expects to post a profit of $1 to $1.06 a share in the fiscal year, slightly above the current consensus estimate of 99 cents a share. It also sees total sales rising to $100 million, up from the $70 million it previously estimated.

In the quarter, software sales jumped 16 percent to $50 million from $43.1 million in the year-ago quarter.

FileNet shares rallied up to a 52-week high of $46.81 in February after falling to a low of $10.75 last October.

Five of the six analysts tracking the stock rate it either a "buy" or "strong buy."