Blue Coat Q1 misses, sees weak Q2; CEO quits
Internet-monitoring gear maker Blue Coat Systems Inc's
The company, which has been struggling to grow revenue and facing increasing competition from a number of more nimble rivals, forecast second-quarter sales of $103-$110 million, compared with analysts' expectations of $116 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Blue Coat is cautious about the mix of big deals in the second quarter given the uncertainly in the federal business, it said on a call with analysts.
Separately, Blue Coat said its Chief Executive Michael Borman left the company less than a year after assuming office.
The company, which counts Websense Inc
For the May-July quarter, the company earned 18 cents a share, excluding special items. Analysts were looking for earnings of 21 cents per share.
Blue Coat, which termed its first-quarter revenue performance as unacceptable, posted sales of $109.5 million, missing sales estimates of $113.4 million.
The company said its first-quarter product sales were hurt by weakness in its U.S. federal vertical.
Product sales fell by more than a fifth to $58.6 million, with the U.S. federal business making up 4 percent of product revenue.
Blue Coat shares fell 19 percent in extended trading. They closed at $17.68 on Tuesday on Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Gopakumar Warrier)
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