Roper forecasts weak 2024 profit on strained enterprise spending

(Reuters) - Software firm Roper Technologies on Wednesday forecast full-year 2024 earnings below Wall Street estimates, due to weaker spending by its target industries.

Shares of the Sarasota, Florida-based company, which rose about 26% in 2023, was down 3.3% in premarket trading.

The holding company, which operates through subsidiaries like DAP Technologies, Roper Pump and Vertafore, among others, was hit by slower-than-expected growth as companies cut back on IT spending in the face of an uncertain economy.

Although global IT spend is expected to regain momentum in 2024, the spending environment is slightly constrained as many companies are hesitant to sign new contracts and commit to long-term initiatives, according to research firm Gartner.

Roper expects adjusted profit between $17.85 and $18.15 per share in 2024, which was below analysts' estimates of $18.33, according to LSEG data.

The forecast includes the impact of its recent acquisition of Procare, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024, the company said.

Roper, which has been trying grow through a series of acquisitions over past years, announced earlier this month it would buy child-care management software firm Procare Solutions for $1.75 billion.

The company's revenue for the fourth quarter rose 13% to $1.61 billion, above estimates of $1.58 billion, helped by a 15% rise in revenue from its Application Software segment which offers services to healthcare and finance industries.

It also reported an adjusted profit of $4.37 per share in the reported quarter, above estimates of $4.34 per share according to LSEG data.

(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Shailesh Kuber)