NetApp Q4 Earnings Miss Views, Shares Slide

Shares of NetApp Inc. NTAP dipped over 6 percent in after-hours trading after the company reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter on Wednesday. The Sunnyvale, California-based company posted quarterly earnings of $135 million, or $0.43 per share, versus $197 million, or $0.59 per share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding one-time items, the company adjusted earnings slipped to $0.65 per share from $0.84 per share. Its revenue came in at $1.54 billion. However, analysts were projecting a profit of $0.72 per share on revenue of $1.59 billion. The average estimate among 19 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.75 per share and revenue of $1.61 billion. NetApp lifted its Q1 dividend by 9 percent to $0.18 per share. The company ended fiscal year 2015 with total cash, cash equivalents and investments of $5.33 billion. "We are not satisfied with our fourth quarter results and are taking concrete action to transition NetApp for the next phase of growth," said Tom Georgens, chairman and CEO. "Clustered ONTAP is the foundation of a Data Fabric, our vision for the future of data management, which enables enterprises to realize the value of the cloud as a seamless extension of their on-premises environment. This vision is resonating well with customers and underpins our confidence." For the fiscal first quarter, the company projects a loss of $0.11 to $0.06 per share. It expects non-GAAP earnings of $0.20 to $0.25 per share. It also expects net revenue of $1.275 billion to $1.375 billion. NetApp shares fell 6.45 percent to $33.05 in the after-hours trading session.