Security Vendor McAfee Sees Profits Surpass Street Projections

McAfee reported a solid quarter, surpassing Wall Street forecasts. McAfee officials said they will still look to cut costs in the wake of last year's purchase of Secure Computing, the company's biggest-ever acquisition at $465 million.

Security software maker McAfee Inc. reported slightly higher-than-expected quarterly profit and forecast revenue for the current quarter above Wall Street's expectations, as viruses and malicious programs increasingly flood the market.

Sales of security software -- applications that guard computers and servers against bad software and viruses -- were holding up well in the economic downturn, as a proliferation of dangerous applications tempered expectations for reductions in corporate spending, executives said.

The company forecast earnings, excluding special items, for the March quarter of 46 cents to 50 cents a share on revenue of $440 to $460 million. Analysts had been estimating a profit of 49 cents a share on revenue of $426 million.
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