NEW YORK (AP) ? Aruba Networks Inc., which makes equipment for wireless network providers, on Thursday posted a sharply higher fourth-quarter profit as a result of an income tax benefit.
For the three months ended July 31, the company said it earned $68.2 million, or 57 cents per share. That’s compared with $423,000, or breakeven per share, in the year-ago period.
The results in the latest quarter included a one-time tax benefit of $72.8 million, or 61 cents per share, as the company released its valuation allowances and the recording of net deferred tax assets on its balance sheet.
Not including one-time items, the company said it earned 17 cents per share. That was a penny above the average analyst forecast of 16 cents a share, according to FactSet.
Total revenue for the quarter rose to $113.8 million from $77.3 million a year ago. Analysts had expected $109.2 million.
CEO Dominic Orr said increasing adoption of mobile devices is driving demand for its products.
But total operating expenses rose to $78.1 million, from $51.6 million a year ago. That increase was primarily the result of higher research and development and sales and marketing costs. The higher expenses resulted in an operating loss of $204,000 for the quarter, compared with an operating income of $695,000 a year ago.
Shares of Aruba, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., rose $1.04, or 6 percent, to $18.18 in after-hours trading following the release of the earnings report. They had closed down 65 cents at $17.14 during the regular session.
