Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS) stock enhanced over 9.6% (as of November 30th, 2017; Source: Google finance) in the pre-market session driven by a solid fourth quarter of 2017 performance.
The group reported a revenue rise of 12.5% to $2.725 billion in the fiscal year of 2017 while non-GAAP earnings per share enhanced 13% yoy to $3.42. The group generated $635 million in operating cash flow, while their three-year backlog enhanced over $150 million to $3.7 billion. Total revenue reached $697 million in the fourth quarter of 2017 which comprised over $30 million in revenue from a large hardware shipment that was planned for 2018 but shifted into Q4.
The group delivered a three-year CAGRs of 10% for both revenue and non-GAAP earnings, driven by upside from hardware and IP. The group scaled their Software Integrity solutions with good organic growth, the Cigital acquisition in Q1 and the planned Black Duck transaction which was announced earlier this month.
Semiconductor IP continued to deliver a double-digit growth. Since the last 15 plus years, the group built the broadest portfolio of IP titles and subsystems and have become a trusted partner and market leader.
The group’s three-year backlog grew over $150 million to $3.7 billion, driven by business growth and the timing of large contract renewals. The group already built a major portion of 2018 revenue, with over 75% already in hand, indicting stable performance.
The group expects a total revenue of $2.88 billion to $2.91 billion for 2018 which is growth rate of 6% to 7%. Excluding Black Duck, the total revenue is forecasted to be in the range of $2.82 billion to $2.855 billion. First quarter of 2018 revenue is forecasted to be between in the range of $740 million and $765 million, which includes over $40 million from the extra week. Software Integrity is expected to be consistent with about 20% growth for next year.
The group bought $400 million this year and over $1.1 billion of repurchased stock in the last three years. But the current plan for 2018 is to use buybacks to keep share count roughly flat.