CSC's 4Q Net Income RisesCSC's 4Q Net Income Rises

Computer Sciences Corp., the nation's third-largest IT services firm, reported Tuesday that its fourth-quarter net income rose 13%, to $162.7 million, or 93 cents per share, for the period ending March 28. CSC said higher sales to the government helped fortify its numbers.

Revenue for the quarter was $3.08 billion, up from $3.05 billion a year ago, the services firm said. The results include a $3.3 million charge CSC took to cover costs associated with its acquisition of government-services contractor DynCorp in March. CSC says the DynCorp deal helped boost its federal-government sales 19%, to $993.8 million, in the quarter. Among other things, DynCorp was recently awarded a federal contract to provide security for Afghan president Hamid Karzai.

For its 2003 fiscal year, CSC posted net income of $440.2 million, or $2.54 per share. In 2002, it earned $2.01 per share on net income of $344.1 million. Revenue for fiscal 2003 fell 0.3%, to $11.3 billion.

CSC's civilian IT business wasn't as bright as its performance in the government sector. For the quarter, the firm said sales of commercial IT services worldwide fell 5.2%, to $2.09 billion. For the year, worldwide commercial sales fell from $8.47 billion in 2002 to $8.0 billion in 2003. The fourth quarter "closes out what has been a difficult year for the IT services industry," CSC chairman and CEO Van Honeycutt said in a statement.

Still, CSC received some good news: It says it has signed four new IT services contracts with General Dynamics Corp. worth a total of $137 million that will expand its relationship with the defense contractor.