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Citrix Systems Inc. CTXS performed well in the first quarter of 2016, reporting higher-than-expected earnings as well as revenues.

The cloud computing company’s earnings (excluding special items) came in at 98 cents per share, 24 cents ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Higher-than-expected revenues contributed to the earnings beat. Moreover, GAAP EPS came in at 54 cents per share in the first quarter of 2016 compared with 18 cents per share in the prior-year quarter.

Net revenue came in at $825.7 million, up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis and also above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $789 million. Gross margin stood at 83.2% in the first quarter of 2016 against 82.6% n the prior-year quarter. Quarterly operating margin was 13.4% versus 6.8% in the prior-year quarter. At the end of the reported quarter, deferred revenues grossed $1.6 billion compared with $1.5 billion a year ago.

During the first quarter of 2016, Citrix generated approximately $340 million of cash from operations compared with $282 million at the end of 2015. The company exited the quarter with $513.3 million in cash and cash equivalents compared with $368.5 million in the prior-year quarter.  

Revenues by Product Mix

Product and Licenses revenues grossed $202.2 million, up 10.3% year over year. License updates and maintenance revenues totaled $393 million, up 5.8% year over year. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) revenues came in at $197.8 million, reflecting a 16.8% increase from the prior-year quarter while Professional Services revenues declined 11.7% to $32.6 million in the reported quarter.

Revenues by Product Groups

Mobile Apps revenues in the first quarter of 2016 totaled $166.1 million, up 13.5% year over year. Delivery Networking revenues grossed $195 million, up 20% from the year-earlier quarter. Workspace Service revenues were $402 million, up 3% year over year.

Revenues by Geography

Revenues in the Americas (both North & Latin America) totaled $389 million, up 14.3% year over year. Revenues in the Europe, Africa and the Middle East region increased 0.9% to $207.3 million while the same in the Asia-Pacific region fell 8% to $63.3 million.

Outlook for Second-Quarter 2016

Citrix expects net revenues in the band of $810 million to $820 million for the second quarter of 2016. Earnings per share (on an adjusted basis) are projected in the band of $1.12 to $1.15.

Outlook for 2016

The Fort Lauderdale, FL-based company estimates revenues in the band of $3.34 billion to $3.36 billion for full-year 2016. Earnings per share (on an adjusted basis) are projected in the band of $4.90 to $5.00.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Citrix currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the same space include Motorola Solutions Inc. MSI, Open Text Corporation OTEX and Nuance Communications, Inc. NUAN. All the three companies sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).