Investing.com -- Shares in Fortinet Inc (O:FTNT) surged more than 6% in after-hours after the California-based network security solutions firm reported stronger than expected fourth quarter earnings, amid heightened cybersecurity concerns worldwide.
For the company's fourth quarter of fiscal year 2015, which ended in late-December, Fortinet finished with revenues of $296.5 million on adjusted net earnings of 0.18 per share. The cybersecurity company topped analysts' forecasts of sales of $272.2 million and per share adjusted earnings of 0.07.
During the stellar quarter, Fortinet grew revenues by 32% on an annual basis and increased billings by 35% to $380.9 million. Altogether, Fortinet finished the year with revenues of $1.01 billion and free cash flow of $245.2 million. Within the report, the company increased product revenue by 32% to $360.6 million, along with service revenue by 30% to $532.5 million.
"Fortinet's solid fourth quarter results help close a strong year, highlighted by our ability to achieve, for the full year, 37% billings growth and reach more than $1 billion in billings and revenue," said Fortinet CEO Ken Xie, in a statement. "Very few companies have achieved this type of growth at Fortinet's scale and it is due to our strong technology advantage and early returns on our customer acquisition and expansion strategy."
Separately, Fortinet's Board of Directors authorized a $200 million share buyback program on Thursday through the end of 2017. Fortinet purchased 5.5 million shares of its stock for $137.5 million throughout its last program, which expired on December 31.
"With cyber security remaining at the forefront of enterprise IT priorities, Fortinet is well-positioned to grow and gain global market share in 2016 and beyond," Xie added.
Shares in Fortinet gained 1.74 or 6.60% to 28.10 in after-hours trading. Earlier, Fortinet shares added as much as 14% to $30 in the extra session before falling slightly back.