Amdocs posted quarterly earnings of $ 1.23 per share - 4 cents higher than analysts expectations

Yesterday, after the close of trading in New York, Amdocs published the fourth fiscal quarter reports for 2020, in which it presented an increase in revenues and profit that exceeded market expectations.
Amdocs' board of directors approved a 10% increase in the quarterly dividend, from $ 0.3275 per share, to $ 0.36 per share - during the reported quarter, the company repurchased $ 91 million worth of shares.
The company posted adjusted quarterly earnings of $ 1.23 per share, 4 cents higher than analysts' expectations, and against earnings of $ 1.08 per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue was $ 1.05 billion, compared to $ 1.03 billion in the same quarter last year - an increase of 1.09% - here too, above the expectation of $ 1.03 billion.
Amdocs noted that most of its revenue came from managed services, which peaked in its fourth fiscal quarter for the year and stood at $ 611 million - an increase of 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year.
Operating profit also rose 19% to $ 146.9 million in the quarter, while accounting profit rose 10.16% to $ 134.4 million or $ 1.01 a share, compared to $ 122 million or 90 cents a share in the same period last year.
Amdocs' backlog as of the end of the quarter for the year ahead stands at $ 3.62 billion. For the current quarter (fiscal first), Amdocs expects revenue in the range of $ 1.095-1.055 billion - above the market forecast stands at $ 1.05-1.08 billion. The company is expected to end the quarter with adjusted earnings of $ 1.15-1.09 per share below the market range of $ 1.1-1.19 per share.
Shuki Sheffer, President and CEO of Amdocs: “We returned to a steady increase in revenue in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, mainly as a result of operations in North America and the acceleration of new customer engagements in Europe, where we had the best performance ever. Our sales momentum accelerated and our order backlog for the next 12 months increased by $ 140 million compared to the previous quarter, and by 3.7% compared to the fourth quarter last year.
 The company concludes the entire fiscal year with a 4.2% increase in revenue to $ 4.17 billion - the market expectation was $ 41.5 billion. Annual adjusted earnings were $ 595.7 million or $ 4.44 per share compared to $ 595.08 million or $ 4.31 per share in the corresponding fiscal year last year. And in accordance with the market forecast.
The company also provided a forecast for the fiscal year 2021 in which it expects a 4% -8% increase in its earnings, along with a 1.5% -8.5% increase in accounting earnings per share, and a 5.0% -9.0% increase in adjusted earnings per share.