F5 beats Street 1Q forecasts

SEATTLE (AP) _ F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) on Wednesday reported fiscal first-quarter earnings of $94.2 million.

On a per-share basis, the Seattle-based company said it had profit of $1.44. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $1.98 per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 17 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.93 per share.

The computer networking company posted revenue of $516 million in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Eleven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $515 million.

For the current quarter ending in April, F5 expects its per-share earnings to range from $1.95 to $1.98. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had forecast adjusted earnings per share of $1.94.

The company said it expects revenue in the range of $518 million to $528 million for the fiscal second quarter. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had expected revenue of $521.5 million.

F5 shares have climbed roughly 1 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased nearly 3 percent. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $145.75, an increase of 55 percent in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on FFIV at https://www.zacks.com/ap/FFIV

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Keywords: F5 Networks, Earnings Report