CSC’s 4th-Quarter Earnings Up 24%

Computer Sciences Corp. said fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 24%, slightly beating expectations, on strong demand to provide companies with computer services. Profit before a charge was $94 million, or 59 cents a diluted share, in the quarter ended April 3, compared with net income of $75.7 million, or 48 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 22% to $1.87 billion, from $1.54 billion. CSC’s per-share earnings beat by one penny the optimistic projections the company made in March, when it tried to convince Wall Street that Islandia, N.Y.-based Computer Associates International Inc.’s unsolicited $9.8-billion takeover offer was too low. CSC successfully warded off Computer Associates’ takeover attempt. CSC was buoyed this quarter by strong revenue, which rose 26% to $778.6 million. The El Segundo-based technology services company’s per-share results were adjusted to reflect a two-for-one stock split effective March 23. CSC shares fell 38 cents to close at $53.13 on the New York Stock Exchange.