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Nuance Communications Inc. (NUAN) on Tuesday posted preliminary results for its fiscal first quarter that came in above the company’s expectations.

Shares of the company were up 9.1% at $16.25 in after-hours trading. Through the close, the stock was down 36% over the past 12 months.

Nuance said it expects adjusted per-share earnings of 23 cents to 24 cents on revenue of $467 million to $471 million for the fiscal first quarter. In November, the company had projected adjusted earnings of 18 cents to 21 cents a share and revenue of $458 million to $468 million.

The company did not cite a reason for the increased guidance. It plans to announce full results for the period on Feb. 10.

Nuance also said it appointed Bill Robbins as executive vice president of worldwide sales. Mr. Robbins had previously worked for a year as operating chief for [24]7 and spent 10 years at Symantec Corp. (SYMC) in several leadership roles.

Nuance, which produces software that converts speech into text, is known best for its Dragon line of dictation products. Costs, tied in part to acquisitions, have hampered the company’s earnings recently, while revenue has grown.

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