Shares of Sybase Inc. jumped more than 7 percent Thursday after the infrastructure provider and wireless software developer posted higher-than-expected second-quarter profits.
The company said a 21-percent increase in its mobile business helped boost the company to a quarterly net profit of $15.9 million, or 17 cents a share, compared with $12.8 million, or 13 cents a share, a year ago. Wireless revenues accounted for $19.9 million in revenues during the period, Sybase said.
“Our flagship database business continued to generate strong license revenue gains this quarter, and the mobile/wireless segment remains a healthy growth driver,” said John Chen, chairman and chief executive officer of Sybase. “Everything came together well this quarter.”
Investors responded Thursday by pushing shares of the company to an 18-month high of $21.48. The stock settled Friday, trading at $21.19 by mid-day on the New York Stock Exchange.
Microsoft saw its mobile business grow steadily during the quarter as well. The software developer Thursday reported $97 million in revenues from wireless during the period, up 39 percent from the previous year. Overall, Microsoft’s quarterly revenues were up 9 percent from last year, and the company reported $3.7 billion in profits.
Earlier this week, VeriSign reported quarterly net profits nearly doubling net profits from a year ago, but earnings from its mobile content business left investors flat. The company, which offers ringtones, images and other content through its Jamster and Jamba Web sites, reported $277 million in revenues in the second quarter from its Communications Services Group, up 14 percent from the first quarter.
VeriSign forecast third-quarter revenues well below Wall Street expectations, but projected earnings-per-share in line with expectations.
