Teradata 4Q earnings rise 6 percent as services revenue offset weakness in product sales

Teradata 4Q earnings rise 6 percent

DAYTON, Ohio — Database manager Teradata said Thursday that fourth-quarter earnings rose by 6 percent as an increase in services revenue more than offset weak sales.

The company earned $84 million, or 48 cents per share, in the quarter compared with a profit of $79 million, or 45 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue rose by 1 percent to $496 million from $493 million, lifted by a weak dollar. Excluding the effects of foreign currency translation, revenue fell 3 percent.

For the year, Teradata earned $254 million, or $1.46 per share, compared with $250 million, or $1.39 per share. Revenue fell 3 percent to $1.71 billion from $1.76 billion.

For 2010, Teradata is projecting earnings of $1.54 per share to $1.64 per share. That’s higher than the $1.48 per share analysts are expecting.

The company said revenue should be 7 percent to 9 percent higher than 2009’s level — or $1.83 billion to $1.92 billion — including a 1 percentage point to 2 percentage point lift from foreign exchange. Analysts were expecting $1.81 billion.

Shares of Teradata Corp., based in Dayton, Ohio, fell 29 cents to $28.32 in afternoon trading.