Absolute Software doubles Q4 earnings to $400K; boost quarterly dividend

VANCOUVER – Absolute Software Corp. (TSX:ABT) reported an increase in both fourth-quarter and full-year profits Monday and raised its quarterly dividend a penny to seven cents per share.

The company, which specializes in security software and services for computers, smartphones and other mobile devices, earned a fourth-quarter profit of US$800,000 or two cents per diluted share, up from US$40,000 or a penny per share in the same 2013 quarter.

Quarterly revenue rose six per cent to US$23.3 million from $22 million, Absolute, which reports in U.S. dollars, said in a statement after markets closed.

For its full financial year, the company earned US$3.6 million or eight cents per share on revenue of US$91 million, up from $1.7 million of four cents on revenue of US$83.2 million.

“Data security has become a key driver in heavily regulated segments. Accordingly, it’s not a surprise that in Q4 Absolute delivered strong sales growth in the corporate and health-care segment,” CEO Geoff Haydon said in statement.

On the Toronto Stock Exchange, Absolute shares closed up five cents at $6.66 on Monday.