Descartes Systems shares rise after posting a 73% hike in quarterly profit

Thu 11:05 am by Mourad Haroutunian

Descartes' CFO Stephanie Ratza says the company has a healthy, well-calibrated business as a result of "our focus on customer satisfaction."

Descartes Systems Group (NASDAQ:DSGX) rose on Thursday after the enterprise software developer posted a 73 percent increase in its fourth-quarter profit.

Shares rose 3.7 percent to C$9.45 at 10:34 a.m. in Toronto. Net income in the quarter that ended January 31 grew to $7.8 million, or 12 cents a share, from $4.5 million, or 7 cents a share, a year earlier, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company said in statement on Thursday.

Adjuted EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, rose 23 percent to 16 cents.

Quarterly revenues advanced 14 percent to $33.8 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of 15 cents a share on revenues of $33.45 million for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

"We have a healthy, well-calibrated business as a result of our focus on customer satisfaction," said CFO Stephanie Ratza. "We continue to accelerate the cash provided by our operating activities while delivering financial results ahead of our long-term operating plan. This allows us to invest in areas of our business with high strategic value and growth potential."

Descartes Systems provides inter-enterprise software for the execution of supply-chain management, especially for delivery-intensive companies. The company's products allow users to share and process information via the Internet. Descartes licenses software to customers worldwide. The company has a market value of C$592 million.