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CNNfn after the bell
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May 25, 1999: 5:49 p.m. ET
Intuit and Novell earnings top Street; DLJ prices IPO, Mindspring splits
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A pair of software firms reported better-than-expected profits after the closing bell Tuesday while Mindspring announced a two-for-one stock split.
Intuit Inc. (INTU) reported stronger-than-expected profits for the fiscal third quarter, buoyed by solid sales of its tax-preparation software.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based company reported pro forma net income of $47.2 million, or 73 cents a share, for the three months ended April 30. That compares with Wall Street's estimate of 70 cents a share and a year ago pro forma profit of $10.2 million, or 20 cents a share.
Including one-time items, Intuit earned $72.6 million, or $1.12 a share, in the quarter, up from a loss of $2.2 million, or 5 cents a share a year ago. Revenue surged 69 percent to $239.7 million.
Intuit attributed the strong results to the launch of QuickBooks 99 in January and strong growth in personal tax products and Internet e-finance services.
Third-quarter results also reflect the seasonal patterns for Intuit's tax software.
Intuit said more than 4 million personal federal-tax products were sold during the quarter.
Intuit is a partner with CNNfn.com and provides personal finance tools and information.
Quarterly profits at Novell Inc. (NOVL) doubled as the second-largest maker of network management software saw revenue climb 20 percent.
Novell said net income for the quarter ended April 30 rose to $38.7 million, or 11 cents a share, from $19.3 million, or 5 cents, in the year-ago period. The results topped analyst expectations by a penny, according to First Call Corp.
Revenue rose 20 percent to $315.7 million from $262.3 million. The Asia-Pacific region also continued to bounce back, where sales rose 23 percent to $26 million, Novell said.
Novell, with its NetWare 5 products and other software, helps computer network administrators manage all the devices and applications on a network. The Provo, Utah-based company is also benefiting from a delay in a competing product from rival Microsoft Corp.
In non-earnings news, U.S. investment bank Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) on Tuesday priced the shares that will track the performance of its DLJdirect online brokerage at $20 a piece.
The 16-million-share offering, which represents a 16 percent stake in DLJdirect, will raise $320 million and value the online unit at $2 billion.
On Friday, DLJ had raised the price range by $5 to $18-$20 a share and increased the number of shares to be sold to 16 million from 15 million. DLJ said in a statement the unit's stock would trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "DIR."
Managers of the offering are DLJ, DLJdirect, BT Alex. Brown, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Merrill Lynch & Co., Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Salomon Smith Barney, DLJ said.
DLJ, which will keep an 84 percent stake in the unit, is to pocket proceeds from the sale of 5 million DLJdirect shares, or some $100 million, while the unit itself is to get $220 million from the sale of 11 million shares.
Finally, MindSpring Enterprises(MSPG) announced a two-for-one stock split, payable JUne 25 to shareholders of record on June 11. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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