Lawson Software predicts 2Q profit

Lawson Software predicts profit up to 3 cents per share in fiscal 2nd quarter

• On 8:06 pm EDT, Wednesday September 30, 2009

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Lawson Software Inc. predicted Wednesday that it will earn up to 3 cents per share in its second fiscal quarter, which ends Nov. 30.

Shares of the software company rose 51 cents, or 8 percent, to $6.75 in after-hours trading. The stock had finished regular trading at $6.24.

Lawson said it expects a profit of a penny per share to 3 cents per share in its second quarter. When excluding one-time items, Lawson said it expects 7 cents to 9 cents per share.

Lawson earned 3 cents per share, or 10 cents per share when excluding items, in the year-ago period.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who generally exclude one-time items from their estimates, expect a profit of 9 cents per share.

Lawson also gave guidance for revenue of $175 million to $180 million in the quarter, which is lower than the $206.4 million it earned last year. Analysts are expecting $176.2 million.

Lawson added that it expects adjusted earnings for the full year will rise 8 to 10 percent over fiscal 2009. In that year, the company's earnings excluding several items totaled $58.7 million, or 35 cents per share.