Mentor Graphics Tops Q1 Expectations

Mentor Graphics Corp MENT reported better-than-expected results for the first quarter on Friday. For the current quarter, the company expects earnings of $0.14 per share on revenue of $250 million. Analysts had projected earnings of $0.24 per share on revenue of $270 million. For the year, Mentor now projects earnings of $1.88 per share, versus its earlier forecast of $1.85 per share. Mentor affirmed its sales outlook of $1.282 billion. The Wilsonville, Oregon-based company reported a quarterly loss of $10 million, or $0.08 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $2.6 million, or $0.02 per share. Excluding one-time items, the company's earnings climbed to $0.28 per share from $0.11 per share. Its revenue rose 7.9 percent to $272 million. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.18 per share on revenue of $260.83 million. The average estimate among 6 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.19 per share and revenue of $263.34 million. The company's board announced a quarterly dividend of $0.055 per share. "The first quarter was strong for Mentor Graphics, substantially exceeding financial guidance," said Walden C. Rhines, chairman and CEO. "In addition to more than 50% bookings growth in three of our four product categories, our automotive business was very strong, driven by a major win with a leading automotive OEM. We also initiated a strategic and geographic realignment of resources. First quarter results provide a solid start to the year." Mentor Graphics shares gained 2.60 percent to $26.00 in pre-market trading.