Over the years, CA's (NYSE:CA) shareholders have witnessed criminal prosecutions, restatements, and defections of key executives. In light of this, it's amazing how resilient the company has been. The good news is that management has taken tough measures to attack the problems, and it looks like things are starting to improve.
CA, an enterprise software developer for areas like security, asset management, and process automation, offers more than 1,000 products. On Wednesday, it reported its results for Q4. Revenue increased 6.7% to $1 billion, and there was a loss of $20 million, or $0.04 per share. In the same period a year ago, CA posted a loss of $41 million, or $0.07 per share.
Keep in mind that there was a $100 million restructuring charge. Management has cut about 10% of the workforce over the past year, implemented an SAP (NYSE:SAP) system, and revamped its product line.
The company has also invested in its direct sales force and put more resources into relationships with systems integrators like Deloitte, Accenture (NYSE:ACN), and PWC. "I think the changes CA has put in place are a good start to revitalizing business and revenue growth," Technology Business Research analyst Melissa Grady said in an interview with the Fool. "Perhaps more importantly, the changes will shake up the sales organization to help make a clean break with cultural and performance habits created under past management." (You can see the full interview on my Motley Fool CAPS blog).
Wall Street was disappointed with CA's full-year revenue guidance of $4.05 billion to $4.1 billion, and the stock fell 8% on the news. As seen with companies like BEA (NASDAQ:BEAS) and EMC (NYSE:EMC), there are signs of a slowdown in information technology spending.
CA is still in the early stages of its restructuring, and we are likely to see some more moves on that front. So while the company seems to be making the right moves, it's probably going to take a couple of quarters to get traction on billings and allow for more sustainable growth.
For related Foolishness:
Need new ideas for your money? Investors like you rate thousands of stocks on Motley Fool CAPS to help you with your own stock selections. It's fun --and it's free.
Fool contributor Tom Taulli, author of The Complete M&A Handbook, does not own shares mentioned in this article. He is ranked 1,898 out of 28,990 rated players in CAPS.
