Trend Micro Hitting On All Cylinders

By staking a major claim to the still-hot security market, Trend Micro reported big increases in several key categories during its first quarter earnings call on Thursday.

The company posted consolidated net sales of $165.4 million, operating income of $69.8 million and net income of $43.6 million for the first quarter of 2005 -- gains of 27 percent, 42 percent and 45 percent, respectively, over the same period a year ago.

Company officials credited continued demand for its multilayered network-protection products from both the enterprise and consumers, particularly in the Internet gateway, client/server and desktop solution spaces. Gateway products, which include Trend Micro InterScan Web Security and InterScan Messaging Security suites, enjoyed a 73 percent gain in sales over the previous year, while consumer desktop product sales grew 35 percent and client/server products increased 28 percent.

"Our continued strength in delivering Internet gateway solutions and the momentum we are gaining in capturing desktop share demonstrates that our corporate customers want a layered approach to defend against increasingly complex threats," says Trend Micro CEO Eva Chen. "We also forged key partnerships this quarter that will help us continue our growth in strategic markets like China, and have enabled us to expand our offerings to the consumer market through integration with partners like Netgear. These developments enable us to deliver the right solutions to our customers around the world."

The company is projecting consolidated net sales for the second quarter ending June 30, 2005, to be $163.6 million, based on current exchange rates. Operating income and net income are expected to be $65.4 million and $39.3 million, respectively.