NETAPP Reports Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2014 Results

NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) today reported financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2014, ended January 24, 2014.

Third Quarter Financial Results

Net revenues for the third quarter of fiscal year 2014 were $1.610 billion. GAAP net income for the third quarter of fiscal year 2014 was $192 million, or $0.55 per share,¹ compared to GAAP net income of $158 million, or $0.43 per share, for the comparable period of the prior year. Non-GAAP net income for the third quarter of fiscal year 2014 was $261 million, or $0.75 per share,² compared to non-GAAP net income of $243 million, or $0.67 per share, for the comparable period of the prior year.

Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Investments

NetApp ended the third quarter of 2014 with $5.069 billion of total cash, cash equivalents, and investments and during the quarter generated approximately $332 million in cash from operations. The Company returned $557 million to shareholders during the quarter through share repurchases and a cash dividend. The next dividend in the amount of $0.15 per share will be paid on April 22, 2014 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on April 10, 2014.

“We are pleased with our strong operational execution again this quarter,” said Tom Georgens, president and CEO. “With our strategy of delivering best-of-breed cloud-integrated and flash-accelerated solutions and our unique ability to manage data seamlessly across on- and off-premise environments, we are well positioned to create ongoing opportunity in the evolving IT landscape.”

 Q4 Fiscal Year 2014 Outlook

The Company is providing the following financial guidance for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014:

• ·   Total revenue is expected to be in the range of $1.620 billion to $1.720 billion
• ·   GAAP earnings per share is expected to be in the range of $0.57 to $0.62 per share
• ·   Non-GAAP earnings per share is expected to be in the range of $0.77 to $0.82 per share

Business Highlights

In its third quarter of fiscal year 2014, NetApp continued to execute one of the industry’s most innovative roadmaps with a focus on delivering cloud-integrated and flash-accelerated storage and data-management solutions that address customers’ shared and dedicated infrastructure requirements. Highlights include:

•  Continued Adoption of Clustered Data ONTAP. The attach rate of clustered ONTAP increased across every product line, with the FAS3000 family showing the largest increase. Clustered node shipments in the quarter increased by almost 300% year over year.
• NetApp Introduces New All-Flash Array. The new NetApp^® EF550 all-flash array delivers high performance and consistent low latency for business-critical applications that require responsiveness and enterprise reliability.NetApp continues to execute its flash technology roadmap, solidifying its position as one of the established leaders in flash technology innovation.
• NetApp Unveils Performance-Optimized Enterprise Storage Systems. The new NetApp E2700 offers simple and flexible management for small remote/branch offices requiring optimal price/performance. The updated NetApp E5500 delivers enhanced performance, density, and modular flexibility for the widest range of data-intensive workloads.
• ·         NetApp Simplifies and Accelerates Deployment of OpenStack Cloud Services. NetApp announced new contributions to OpenStack that include solutions for OpenStack Havana, incubation of a service for OpenStack Icehouse, and expanded support for partners and customers, including options that provide lower cost, faster innovation, flexibility, and no vendor lock-in.
• ·         Leading Analyst Firm Ranks NetApp #1 in Storage System Capacity Shipped for Public Cloud Infrastructure. Recently, IDC ranked NetApp as having the #1 storage solution shipped for 2012 for public cloud infrastructure from the perspective of external system capacity. The ranking was conducted as part of IDC’s biannual Storage User Demand Study,³ which analyzes current and future deployments of enterprise storage systems for particular data uses.
• ·         NetApp Once Again Recognized as a Best Company to Work for in America. The recognition marks the 12^thconsecutive year that NetApp was named to this list of 100 elite companies by FORTUNE magazine.

Webcast and Conference Call Information

NetApp will host a conference call to discuss these results today at 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time. To access the live webcast of this event, visit the NetApp Investor Relations website at investors.netapp.com. In addition, this press release and other information related to the call will be posted on the Investor Relations website. An audio replay will also be available after 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time today on the website.