Citing the U.S. economic slowdown, Intuit Inc. has revised its fiscal 2003 guidance. The company now expects revenue of US$1.65 billion to $1.69 billion for the fiscal year ending in July, which represents growth of approximately 25-29 percent over fiscal 2002.
The company has taken action to realign costs with revenue and expects pro forma earnings per share of $1.30 to $1.35, or growth of 41-47 percent over the prior year, according to Steve Bennett, Intuit’s president and CEO. “Our share of retail sales for QuickBooks and TurboTax has remained steady and strong, but the categories are simply growing more slowly,” he said.
What’s more, Intuit has experienced a slower start to its consumer tax season this year. The company believes this has caused slower growth in the consumer tax category while TurboTax’s share of retail season-to-date sales has remained steady at approximately 68 percent of units and nearly 77 percent of dollars, Bennett said. However, Intuit is hoping that stronger-than-expected season-end sales will materialize with three of the busiest weeks of the tax season still to come.