Nice Systems Shares Rise On Upbeat Q3 Earnings

Shares of Nice Systems

gained more than 3.4% in pre-market trading after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter profit. Israel's Nice posted quarterly earnings, excluding one-time items, came in at $0.70 per diluted share, compared to $0.62 per share, in the year-ago period. Its revenue climbed 9% to $250 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.64 per share on revenue of $244.5 million. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, unchanged versus the second quarter. Non-GAAP gross margin narrowed to 65.0% from 65.7%. Operating income rose to $47.0 million from $42.2 million. For the fourth quarter, Nice expects adjusted earnings of $0.89 to $1.01 per share on revenue of $285 to $300 million. Analysts expected earnings of $0.94 per share on revenue of $292 million. For 2014, the company expects adjusted earnings of $2.73 to $2.85 per share on revenue of $1.003 to $1.018 billion. Analysts projected earnings of $2.71 per share on revenue of $1.005 billion. "We are very pleased with our strong performance for the third quarter," said Barak Eilam, CEO of NICE. "These results reflect the initial impact of the plan we began to execute in the second quarter of this year. This plan included a focus on improving execution, streamlining the business and increasing profitability. We have made good progress so far - organic growth accelerated and profitability improved. Additionally, analytic applications, which are at the core of our strategy, continue to perform well. Nice shares gained 3.48% to $42.53 in pre-market trading.