SYMC Symantec Corporation

By Ezequiel Minaya 

Symantec Corp., the maker of antivirus software, said it would cut about 10% of its work force and close some facilities under a restructuring plan that would result in a charge of up to $280 million.

The announcement was made at the same time that the company released results for its final quarter, meeting scaled-back expectations to close a fiscal year that left the computer-security company looking for a new chief executive

Shares of the company, down about 33% over the past 12 months, slid 0.6% to $16.80 after hours.

In a conference call, executives mentioned cutting some 1,200 positions. Symantec expects a charge of $230 million to $280 million in connection with the restructuring over the next two years. The company is aiming for $400 million in cost cuts.

According to FactSet, the company has some 19,000 employees.

Thomas J. Seifert, the company's chief financial officer, said that Symantec was "improving our organizational efficiency to remove layers of management, consolidate operations, and rebalance some positions to lower cost regions."

A pioneer in the growing market for cybersecurity products, Symantec has struggled to diversify amid competition from younger rivals.

The company announced in April that Michael Brown would step down as chief executive and remain in the post until a successor is named.

At the time, the company also said that it expected fourth-quarter revenue of $873 million, down from prior guidance of $885 million to $915 million, and adjusted earnings of 22 cents, below its prior range of 24 cents to 27 cents.

In January, Mr. Brown completed the sale of the company's Veritas data-storage division to Carlyle Group for $7.4 billion. Symantec was forced to slash the Veritas sale price by $600 million because of "uncertainties" about the deal, the company said. Symantec had bought Veritas for $10.2 billion in 2005 in an attempt to diversify its business, but it proved to be an unwieldy distraction

For the fourth quarter ended April 1, Symantec earned $2.05 billion, or $3.15 a share, in the wake of the Veritas sale, up from $176 million, or 25 cents a share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were 22 cents a share, down from 29 cents.

Revenue fell 3% to $873 million.

For the current quarter, the company expects revenue between $865 million and $895 million, with adjusted per-share earnings in the range of 24 cents to 26 cents. Analysts expect revenue of $881 million on earnings of 24 cents a share.

For the year, the company predicted sales between $3.49 billion and $3.58 billion, with adjusted per-share earnings between $1.06 and $1.10. Analysts expected sales of $3.53 billion and earnings of $1.09 a share.

Write to Ezequiel Minaya at ezequiel.minaya@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 12, 2016 19:49 ET (23:49 GMT)

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