Compuware Stock Tumbles After Two Big Deals Delayed
Stock in Detroit-based Compuware Corp. (Nasdaq: CPWR) tumbled nearly 6 percent in after-hours trading after the company announced that two large software deals had been pushed past the end of the company's fiscal year March 31.
Compuware made the disclosure in a "preliminary results" announcement after the market closed Wednesday.
The announcement kicked off with positive news about the quarter. Compuware said there was strong growth of 77 percent in its Uniface software license fees, 65 percent revenue growth for its Covisint secure collaboration service, and 53 percent year-over-year growth in its application perforamnce management software license fees and subscription revenues.
Compuware also said license fees for its Changepoint software grew 14 percent for the quarter, and professional services revenue grew more than 5 percent.
But then came the bad news. Compuware president and COO Bob Paul said that two "significant mainframe agreements that were scheduled to close were pushed into our next fiscal yaer due to circumstances beyond our control. One federal contract could not be signed due to the government budget impasse."
Paul said another contract was pushed to the first quarter "beause a global bank put its capitalization policy under review.
The net effect? A $60 million cut in predicted revneue, and a 4 to 5 cents a share cut in net income.
However, Paul said, "both of these contracts will be completed, and as a result, Compuware will provide an upside to guidance in FY '12."
Overall, Paul said, "We are very pleased with these results. Seeing these kinds of increases from our growth drivers clearly demonstrates that our fundamentals are sound and our plan is working. The important news is that Compuware ended the year with an outstanding fourth quarter. Everyone at the company is proud of what we accomplished in fiscal 2011 and optimistic about what we can do in 2012 and beyond."
Wall Street was not convinced, dumping Compuware shares in after hours trading. Compuware shares closed the regular trading day at $11.19 a share, up 23 cents or 2.1 percent on the day. After hours, they fell as low as $10.50 a share, down 69 cents or 5.5 percent.
To listen to a replay of a conference call discussing the announcement, call (800) 475-6701 in the United States or (320) 365-3844 elsewhere. The replay passcode will be 201103. Additionally, investors can listen to the conference call via webcast by visiting the Compuware Corporation Investor Relations web site at www.compuware.com.
