Proofpoint Inc (NASDAQ: PFPT) stock rose over 15% on February 1st, 2019 (as of 11:54 am GMT-5 ; Source: Google finance) after the company posted better than expected results for the fourth quarter of FY18. As of December 31, 2018, PFPT had cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments of $231.7 million. The company has generated $55.1 million in net cash from operations for the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to $42.5 million during the fourth quarter of 2017. The company’s free cash flow for the quarter was $48.6 million compared to $30.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2017.
PFPT in the fourth quarter of FY 18 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of 51 cents, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of 35 cents, as per Zacks Investment Research. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 35 percent to $198.5 million in the fourth quarter of FY 18. Total billings for the fourth quarter of 2018 grew 43% to $269.9 million compared to $188.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2017.
Moreover, the international business grew 45% year-over-year and represented 19% of total revenue. Notable international deals closed during the quarter included a government entity that purchased protection for 180,000 users; a Global 2000 airline located in Japan that purchased Protection & TAP for nearly 30,000 users; and a Global 2000 conglomerate that purchase Protection & TAP for 20,000 users.
For the current quarter ending in April, Proofpoint expects its per-share earnings to range from 31 cents to 35 cents. The company expects revenue to be in the range of $198 million to $200 million for the fiscal first quarter.
Proofpoint expects full-year 2019 earnings per share to be in the range of $1.60 to $1.67 and the revenue is expected to be in the range of $870 million to $874 million.
In terms of billings, the company’s expectations continue to be in the range of $1.058 billion to $1.062 billion, representing 21% growth at the midpoint. In terms of the timing over the course of the year, the company expects a pattern similar to the past year with approximately 20% of the total billings for the year to be recorded in Q1, 21.5% of the total in Q2, 26% in Q3 and 32.5% of the total in Q4. The company expects the full year 2019 non-GAAP gross margins to be just over 78%, modestly improved when compared to 2018 and above the midpoint of the long term range of 77% to 79%.