MicroStrategy 1Q profit declines as operating expenses rise

MCLEAN, Va.—Business software maker MicroStrategy Inc. said Thursday its first-quarter profit declined, as increasing operating expenses overshadowed growth in product license revenue and support.

For the quarter that ended March 31, MicroStrategy earned $8.3 million, or 67 cents per share, compared with $9.8 million, or 75 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue rose to $83.5 million from $69.4 million last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson financial expected a profit of 96 cents per share on $84.8 million in revenue. Those estimates generally exclude special items.

MicroStrategy's product license revenue rose 32.5 percent to $22.1 million, helped by $4 million in revenue from the closing of a deal with a financial services company.

Product support and other services revenue rose 16.6 percent to $61.4 million.

The company said it intends to sell its Alarm.com and Angel.com businesses so it can focus on its business software and services business. It classified results from Alarm.com and Angel.com as discontinued operations.

MicroStrategy's operating expenses rose 30.6 percent to $55.1 million in the quarter, which the company attributed mainly to an increase in the number of employees in its business intelligence unit.

MicroStrategy shares fell $12.92, or 14.3 percent, to $77.33 in morning trading.