F5 Inc (FFIV) Reports 4% Revenue Growth and Double-Digit Earnings Growth for Fiscal Year 2023
F5 Inc (NASDAQ:FFIV) announced a 4% revenue growth for fiscal year 2023, reaching $2.8 billion.
The company reported double-digit earnings growth for both the fiscal year and the fourth quarter.
F5 repurchased $350 million of its shares in fiscal year 2023, representing 58% of its free cash flow.
For fiscal year 2024, F5 expects revenue to be flat or show a low-single-digit percentage decline from its fiscal year 2023 revenue.
On October 24, 2023, F5 Inc (NASDAQ:FFIV) released its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended September 30, 2023. The company reported a 4% revenue growth for the fiscal year, reaching $2.8 billion, up from $2.7 billion in fiscal year 2022. The fourth quarter saw a 1% revenue growth, with the revenue reaching $707 million, up from $700 million in fiscal year 2022.
Fiscal Year 2023 Performance Summary
Global services revenue grew 7% from the year-ago period while product revenue grew 1%, reflecting 3% systems revenue growth and software revenue that was flat with the year-ago period. GAAP gross profit for fiscal year 2023 was $2.2 billion, representing a GAAP gross margin of 78.9%. This compares with a GAAP gross profit of $2.2 billion in the year-ago period, which represented a GAAP gross margin of 80.0%. Non-GAAP gross profit for fiscal year 2023 was $2.3 billion, representing a non-GAAP gross margin of 81.5%. This compares with non-GAAP gross profit of $2.2 billion in the year-ago period, which represented a non-GAAP gross margin of 82.6%.
Fourth Quarter Performance Summary
Fourth quarter fiscal year 2023 revenue grew 1% from the year-ago period, to $707 million, up from $700 million in fiscal year 2022. Global services revenue grew 9% from the year-ago period while product revenue declined 7%, reflecting 11% software revenue growth and systems revenue that was down 25% from the year-ago period. GAAP gross profit for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023 was $566 million, representing GAAP gross margin of 80.1%. This compares with GAAP gross profit of $553 million in the year-ago period, which represented GAAP gross margin of 78.9%.
Business Outlook
Looking ahead, F5 expects some customer caution to persist into fiscal year 2024. The company remains focused on delivering earnings growth and returning cash to its shareholders. For fiscal year 2024, F5 expects revenue that is flat to a low-single-digit percentage decline from its fiscal year 2023 revenue. The Company remains committed to its profitability commitment and in fiscal year 2024, expects to deliver non-GAAP earnings per share growth of 5% to 7% year-over-year.
Share Repurchase
F5 repurchased $350 million of its shares in fiscal year 2023, representing 58% of its free cash flow. As of the end of fiscal year 2023, F5 had $922 million remaining on its previously authorized share repurchase program.
About F5 Inc (NASDAQ:FFIV)
F5 is a multi-cloud application services and security company committed to bringing a better digital world to life. F5 partners with the worlds largest, most advanced organizations to secure and optimize apps and APIs anywhereon premises, in the cloud, or at the edge. F5 enables organizations to provide exceptional, secure digital experiences for their customers and continuously stay ahead of threats.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
