Check Point Software Technologies Inc (CHKP)

[midastouch017]

Check Point Software Reports Financial Results for the First Quarter of 2005
Monday April 18, 4:00 am ET
2005 First Quarter Revenues Increased 19% over First Quarter of 2004


REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 18, 2005--Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq:CHKP - News), the worldwide leader in securing the Internet, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2005.
Financial Highlights for the First Quarter of 2005:

Revenues: $137.7 million, an increase of 19% compared to $116.1 million in the first quarter of 2004.
Net Income: $73.7 million, an increase of 76% compared to $41.9 million in the first quarter of 2004. Net income excluding acquisition related charges(1) was $75.8 million, an increase of 17% compared to $65 million in the first quarter of 2004.
Earnings per Diluted Share: $0.29, an increase of 78% compared to $0.16 in the first quarter of 2004. EPS excluding net acquisition related charges was $0.30, an increase of 18% compared to $0.25 in the first quarter of 2004.
Deferred Revenues: increased by $9.1 million to a record $150.2 million, a 6% increase over deferred revenues as of December 31, 2004.
Share Repurchase Program: During the first quarter of 2005, Check Point purchased 2.1 million shares at a total cost of close to $50 million.
"We are pleased with our first quarter results, which showed significant growth in profits and revenues," said Gil Shwed, chairman and chief executive officer of Check Point Software. "We continued to extend our annuity based revenues which were spearheaded by growing sales of two of our new offerings: ZoneAlarm security services for the consumer segment and SmartDefense real time security updates for our enterprise customers."

Business Highlights and Introductions during the First Quarter Include:

Unveiled Eventia(TM) Product Family of Security Event Management Solutions -- designed to help IT security departments reduce the cost and complexity of security event correlation, management, and reporting. The first product unveiled, Eventia Analyzer(TM), automatically prioritizes security events for decisive, intelligent action and turns volumes of raw data into actionable information to empower security administrators to make informed decisions on their security deployment.
Unveiled Integrity(TM) 6.0 for Unmatched Endpoint Security -- the most complete endpoint security solution, including intrusion prevention, outbound threat protection, access policy enforcement, advanced server and policy automation, protects PCs and enterprise networks proactively from the newest worms, viruses, spyware, and hacker attacks.
Released Connectra(TM) 2.0 -- the newest version of Check Point's revolutionary Web Security Gateway that provides SSL VPN access with integrated application and endpoint security. In addition, Connectra 2.0 includes secure browser and cache cleaning, endpoint host checking and real-time security updates.
Introduced a New Focus in our Highly Regarded OPSEC(TM) Partner Alliance -- to help customers overcome today's emerging network security threats through a comprehensive, best-of-breed security architecture. The new initiative focuses on six critical OPSEC (Open Platform for Security) solution areas -- internal security, Web security, content security, Total Access Protection (TAP), Voice over IP (VoIP) and regulatory compliance.
Partial List of Awards in the First Quarter:

Leader in the Prestigious Gartner Magic Quadrant -- for the fourth consecutive year Check Point ranked as a leader for Network Firewalls. This influential report evaluates both network and application firewall vendors on their ability to execute and completeness of vision.
Dramatically Outperformed Competitors in Tolly Group Tests -- independent tests confirmed that Check Point provides the broadest breadth of security coverage at the lowest Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for today's complex security vulnerabilities.
VARBusiness Magazine Five-Star Rating for Channel Partner Program -- The highest attainable ranking for outstanding breadth and depth of channel partner program offerings.
Three Prestigious Awards for 2005 SC Magazine Global Awards -- Best Firewall award for the VPN-1®/FireWall-1® Next Generation(TM) with Application Intelligence(TM), Best Enterprise Security Solution for VPN-1 Pro(TM) Next Generation with Application Intelligence and Best SOHO Security Solution for ZoneAlarm® Security Suite.
Mr. Shwed continues: "In Q2, we will remain focused on execution and will continue to expand the depth and breadth of our intelligent perimeter, internal, Web and endpoint security solutions, providing customers with the highest levels of protection."

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Check Point will host a conference call with the investment community on April 18, 2005 at 8:30 AM ET/5:30 AM PT. A replay of the conference call will be available through May 2 at the Company's website http://www.checkpoint.com/ir or by telephone at 201-612-7415, access code 215 and conference ID 146033.

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050418/185423.html?.v=1

Midas