Aliso Viejo-based business software maker Quest Software Inc. saw its shares rise 7% in midday New York trading Friday, a day after beating expectations for first-quarter results and offering a 2008 sales forecast that topped expectations at the high end.
Quest has a market value of nearly $1.6 billion.
On Thursday, Quest reported a quarterly profit before onetime charges of $22 million, which beat Wall Street’s expectation of $20 million.
Including acquisition and other charges, Quest earned $13.3 million, down 11% from a year earlier.
Sales were up 15% to $172.8 million, beating the $165.6 million analysts had expected.
For the year, Quest forecast revenue of $705 million to $720 million, which, at the high end, topped the $712 million analysts had been expecting.
The company also saw a big rise in cash in the first quarter. As of March 31, Quest had $383.5 million on hand, up by $66.7 million at Dec. 31.
Most of the increase came from $55.3 million in cash Quest generated from operations in the quarter.
The company makes software that improves on or helps manage other business programs from Oracle Corp., Microsoft Corp. and others.
