What happened
Shares of Dassault Systemes (DASTY 3.76%) closed 9.8% higher Wednesday, after the French 3-D design software maker reported Q4 2018 earnings and revenues that exceeded its own guidance.
Total sales for the fiscal fourth quarter came in at 1.04 billion euros ($1.19 billion), as calculated according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS -- similar to GAAP). That was ahead of prior guidance for sales between 982 million and 1 billion euros. Earnings per share were 0.78 euros.
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So what
Compared with the year-ago quarter, Dassault's sales grew 14%, with software sales in particular up 12%. Earnings per share, on the other hand, declined 1% year over year. This was a weak end to Dassault's full fiscal year, which saw sales rise only 8% -- but profits rise 8%, to 2.18 euros per share.
Check out the latest Dassault earnings call transcript.
Now what
CFO Pascal Daloz predicted that Q1 2019 will see the company take in 925 million to 945 million euros in revenue on a non-IFRS basis (similar to U.S. pro forma results) -- about 11% to 13% year-over-year growth. Non-IFRS profits are expected to range from 0.78 to 0.82 euros, growth of between 8% and 13%
For the full year, Dassault believes it can achieve 10% to 11% non-IFRS revenue growth to about 3.81 billion to 3.84 billion euros, and non-IFRS EPS of about 3.35 to 3.40 euros, representing growth of about 7% to 9%.
