CA sees results in line with Wall Street

Islandia, N.Y.: Business software maker Computer Associates International

Inc. on Thursday said its fourth-quarter results would be in line with Wall

Street expectations, seeking to dispel fears that a previously announced delay

in its reports signaled accounting issues.

In a statement, Computer Associates said that in response to investor and

analyst requests, it would report its fourth quarter and fiscal year end results

after the market closes on Monday, May 15.

The consensus for the fourth quarter is for the company to report earnings,

excluding the impact of goodwill tied to acquisitions, of $1.13 per share,

compared with 90 cents per share in the year-ago period, according to First

Call/Thomson Financial. The consensus, including the effect of amortizing

goodwill, is for earnings of 98 cents per share.

Shares of Computer Associates were up nearly 15 per cent, or 6-1/2 to 51 in

late afternoon trading and was among the top 10 net gainers on the New York

Stock Exchange.

Earlier this week, shares of Islandia, N.Y.-based Computer Associates tumbled

as much as 16 percent after the company said it would report fourth-quarter

results a week later than expected. Wall Street analysts said then that the

sell-off was triggered when a Computer Associates official said at the Chase

Hambrecht & Quist investor conference in San Francisco that the company

would delay its report until May 18. "It's kind of annoying because it was

originally scheduled for today, then they pushed it back a week, which I really

didn't mind," said David Moy, an analyst with Chapman Co. "I think it

was done because people are concerned that companies that report late report

disappointing earnings."

Moy said he speculated that the company needed more time to "dot some

"i's" and cross some "t's" regarding their recent

acquisition of Sterling Software Inc.

(C) Reuters Limited 2000.