Symantec planned to post earnings of $0.14 or $0.15 per share for its third fiscal quarter but now expects the numbers to drop to either $0.10 or $0.11. Revenue estimations for the quarter are in the $1.29 billion to $1.31 billion range as opposed to the $1.32 billion to $1.35 billion range.
Symantec CEO John Thompson blames the shortfall on weak performance in the company"s data center management business. That Symantec arm primarily sells the Veritas enterprise storage products that Symantec acquired in 2005. Implementation of a new ERP system during the quarter cost more than expected, which also hit the company"s bottom line.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based software vendor also lowered its estimates for its fiscal year ending March 2007. Symantec"s stock took a beating on the warning, dropping nearly 13% by this afternoon. Symantec will report its third-quarter earnings on January 24.