FireEye reports first-ever adjusted quarterly profit

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(Reuters) – Cyber security firm FireEye Inc (FEYE.O) on Thursday reported its first-ever quarterly adjusted profit since going public in 2013, helped by cost cutting and shift to a subscription-based model.

On an adjusted basis, the company reported a profit of 1 cent per share for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31.

FireEye said net loss attributable to shareholders widened to $77 million, or 42 cents per share, from $61.5 million, or 37 cents per share, a year earlier.

The quarter included payment of $12.5 million in net legal settlement costs, the company said.

“At the end of (2016), we really realigned our cost structure. By doing so, we were able to take out $94 million of full-year operating expense,” Chief Financial Officer Frank Verdecanna told Reuters.

FireEye, which is transitioning to a software-as-a-service model (SaaS) from its traditional business that centered around the sale of hardware boxes, said the subscription and services business grew 8.5 percent to $164 million.

“We released cloud versions of pretty much all our spot products – which really has helped drive our product subscription growth,” Verdecanna said.

Total revenue rose 9.5 percent to $202.3 million.