Amdocs (NASDAQ: DOX) reported Q3 EPS of $1.35, $0.17 better than the analyst estimate of $1.18. Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.07 billion versus the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion.

“Our strong third quarter performance reflects the strategic initiatives we have executed this year to accelerate Amdocs’ long-term growth. Revenue was up 9.4% from a year ago on a pro forma(2) constant currency(3) basis and was led by a growing scope of activities as our customers accelerate multi-year investments focused around 5G modernization and the cloud. At the operating level, profitability remained above the high-end of our target range as we balanced operational excellence with accelerated R&D investments, and we generated robust free cash flow of which we returned a majority to shareholders through share repurchases and our quarterly dividend program,” said Shuky Sheffer, president and chief executive officer of Amdocs Management Limited.

Sheffer continued, “During Q3, we strengthened our European footprint as our customers’ progressed digital modernization initiatives to support improved customer experience, better operating efficiency and multiplay convergence strategies. We entered into a multi-year managed transformation agreement with Three UK, a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings, that expands the two companies’ collaboration in the business-to-business domain to the consumer sector to provide subscribers with next-generation digital experiences and 5G services. Additionally, Vodafone Group selected Amdocs to provide next-generation inventory and OSS capabilities to support mobile, fixed and cable offerings in Germany, Romania, and Czech Republic, and we expanded our agreement with Vodafone Spain to modernize its CRM systems in readiness for 5G and the cloud era.”

Sheffer concluded, “We enter the fourth fiscal quarter with record 12-month backlog on a pro forma (2) basis, up 10.8% from a year ago. Additionally, we expect to sustain strong sales momentum by monetizing our market-leading offerings which we believe are well-aligned with our customer’s needs for digital modernization, 5G, cloud migration, and next-generation OSS platforms. Overall, we are raising our outlook for earnings per share growth in fiscal 2021 and we remain on track to deliver full year revenue growth acceleration on a proforma basis.”

GUIDANCE:

Amdocs sees Q4 2021 EPS of $1.13-$1.19, versus the consensus of $1.28. Amdocs sees Q4 2021 revenue of $1.065-1.105 billion, versus the consensus of $1.09 billion.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Amdocs (DOX) click here.