Israeli cyber security firm Check Point Q4 profit up, CEO to move to executive chairman

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Check Point Software Technologies on Tuesday beat fourth-quarter profit expectations and announced CEO Gil Shwed plans transition into the role of executive chairman.

The Israeli-based company reported $2.57 per diluted share excluding one-off items for the October-December quarter, up 5% from $2.45 a year earlier. Revenue grew 4% to $664 million.

That beat the $2.48 a share on revenue of $661.5 million expected by analysts, LSEG data from Refinitiv showed.

Check Point said it bought back 2.2 million shares in the quarter, worth $313 million, as part of an ongoing $2 billion share buyback programme.

"I feel it is the right time for me to focus on the evolution of Check Point and its next stage. I intend to transition into the role of executive chairman charting the future of Check Point and the cyber security market," Shwed said in a statement.

"We’re initiating the succession process to hire a new CEO, and once completed I will transition into my new position as executive chairman."

(Reporting by Steven Scheer; editing by Jason Neely)