Symantec Announces Record Second Fiscal Quarter Results

News Release

Symantec Announces Record Second Fiscal Quarter Results

73% increase in corporate revenue and 65% increase in international sales drive growth

Cupertino, Calif., - October 20, 1999 - Driven by continued performance in corporate and international markets, Symantec Corporation (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced record revenues of $182.5 million for the second fiscal quarter 2000 - an increase of 40 percent over the same quarter a year ago.

Net income before the amortisation of goodwill and one-time-charge was $31 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, compared to $11.1 million, or $0.19 per diluted share for the same quarter a year ago. Net income before one-time-charge was $27.1 million, or $0.45 per diluted share compared to $10.6 million, or $0.18 per diluted share for the same quarter a year ago.

In addition, the company had a one-time charge of $1.2 million in the quarter, mostly related to in process research and development associated with the purchase of URLabs. Earnings per diluted share after goodwill and one-time charge was $0.43.

"We are very pleased with the team's performance around the world. The combination of new product releases and strong sales performance, particularly in the corporate marketplace, has delivered a solid quarter for our company and its shareholders," said Symantec's chairman, president and CEO, John W Thompson. "We are achieving better balance in our revenue, both in terms of geographical contribution and sales to corporate and consumer customers."

Symantec also announced plans to restructure with two customer business units - the Enterprise Solutions Division and Consumer Products Division. In addition, the company will establish two support units - a Core Technology Unit and Strategic Market Development Unit.

Record Corporate Performance
Corporate revenue for the second fiscal quarter 2000 grew 73 percent compared to the same quarter in fiscal 1999 and represented 47 percent of total revenue.

In the US, new corporate customers during the quarter include Market Scan Information Systems, Chevron, Dayton Hudson, Getronics Wang, PeopleSoft and Siemens Westinghouse.

During the quarter, Symantec completed its acquisition of URLabs and strengthened its content security solution offering by integrating the company's URL filtering and scanning technologies into its product portfolio. In addition, Symantec announced the launch of a number of new corporate content security and device management products aimed at the corporate market.

These include: Norton AntiVirus Corporate Edition 7.0, Norton AntiVirus 2.0 for Microsoft Exchange, Norton Ghost 6.0 and Norton Speed Disk for Windows NT.

International Performance
In the second fiscal quarter 2000, international revenues increased 65 percent over the same quarter a year ago and accounted for 41 percent of total revenue. Driven by strong corporate sales, particularly in anti-virus, Symantec's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region grew total revenue by 52 percent. Revenue from the Asia Pacific and Japan regions grew 92 percent and 64 percent respectively.

Retail product launches and product awards
New retail products launched and announced in the second fiscal quarter 2000 included: Norton SystemWorks 2000, Norton AntiVirus 2000, Norton Cleansweep 2000, Norton Utilities 2000, Norton Ghost 2000 Personal Edition, Talkworks 3.0,, ACT! 2000. In addition, Norton AntiVirus 6.0 and Norton Utilities 5.0 for the Macintosh platform were announced.

Symantec won more than 80 industry awards during the quarter including:

PC World Best Products of 1999 and Best Buy awards: Norton SystemWorks and Norton AntiVirus.
PC World Editor's Pick awards: Norton Utilities and Norton 2000.
PC Week Analyst's Choice award: pcAnywhere.
Windows Magazine Software Product of the year: Norton AntiVirus.
Windows Magazine WinList: Norton 2000, Norton SystemWorks, WinFax and ACT!
VAR Business ARC award: Visual Café.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT:
This press release contains forward-looking statements. There are certain important factors that could cause Symantec's future development efforts to differ materially from those anticipated by some of the statements made above. Among these are the anticipation of the growth of certain market segments, the positioning of Symantec's products in those segments, the competitive environment in the software industry, dependence on other products, changes to operating systems and product strategy by vendors of operating systems, and the importance of new Symantec products. Additional information concerning those and other factors is contained in the "Risk Factors" section of the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 2, 1999.

About Symantec in Canada:
With 250 employees, Symantec's Canadian operations are headquartered in Toronto with offices in Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver. For information on Symantec products or current promotions, contact the Canadian office at (416) 441-3676 or access Symantec's Canadian Web Site. Symantec is an active member of the Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft (CAAST).

About Symantec
Symantec is the world leader in utility software for business and personal computing. Symantec products and solutions help make users productive and keep their computers safe and reliable anywhere and anytime. Symantec offers a broad range of solutions and is acclaimed as a leader in both customer satisfaction and product brand recognition. Symantec is traded on Nasdaq under the symbol SYMC. More information on the company and its products can be obtained at www.symantec.com.

Founded in 1982, the company's global operations span North America, Europe, Japan and several fast growing markets throughout Asia Pacific and Latin America. Traded on Nasdaq under the symbol SYMC, Symantec Corporation is based in Cupertino, Calif., and employs more than 2,000 people. Information on the company and its products can be obtained by calling (800) 441-7234 toll free, (541) 334-6054 or accessed on the World Wide Web.

NOTE TO EDITORS: If you would like additional information on Symantec Corporation and its products, please view the Symantec Press Centre on Symantec's web site. Brands and products referenced herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.