Ness Technologies Inc (NSTC)

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Ness beats Q4 forecasts

16.2.06 | 16:51 By Asaf Rothem

Ness Technologies (Nasdaq: NSTC) beat the Street forecasts for the last quarter of 2005, achieving record quarterly revenues of $105.1 million.

In the third quarter, the Tel Aviv-based international software giant had neared $100 million and today the company and its management, headed by Raviv Zoller, can pat themselves on the back. This was the 12th straight quarter in which Ness presented revenue growth.

Its fourth-quarter revenues were up 28% from the parallel quarter and well above the average forecast of $103.2 million.

The company's net profit also soared to a record of $6.8 million, up 26% from $5.4 million the year before.

Minus one-time items, Ness' pro forma earnings per share were 18 cents, as expected.

For the year 2005, Ness presented $385 million turnover, up 26% from 2004, while the Street had expected $383.2 million.

Ness stock from the start of 2005

The company's 2005 net profit amounted to $21.7 million, as the company had guided investors to expect, compared with $14.4 million the year before.

At the start of 2005, Ness provided guidance for the year that fell below the Street's thinking. The company guided investors to expect 70-75 earnings per share and revenues in the range of $370 million to $375 million.

Afterward the company raised its guidance twice and finally elected to predict a range of $381 million to $384 million, after buying the company now called Ness Slovakia and another company called Delta.

Ness went public in September 2004 at $12 per share. Today it's share price is $10.90, and that's after it rose 22% from the start of November.

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