LADIES & GENTLEMEN, NSCP RECORD EARNINGS!
FROM THE WSJ:
Netscape's Earnings Once Again
Surpass Wall Street's Expectations
A Money & Investing Update News Roundup
Netscape Communications Corp. reported impressive earnings for the second straight
quarter on another huge revenue gain.
The Mountain View, Calif., maker of popular software used to browse the World Wide
Web portion of the Internet reported fourth-quarter net income of $2.4 million, or six
cents per share, compared with a loss of $7.5 million, or 22 cents a share in the year
ago quarter. Analysts had expected the company to post a fourth-quarter profit of four
cents a share. Netscape's revenue jumped 328%, to $40.6 million in the fourth quarter
from $1.2 million a year ago.
The company announced the news after the market's close Wednesday. But its shares
sank earlier in the day in trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, losing $2.75 to
$164.25. But the price suggests how hot Netscape has been of late. On Oct. 24, the
day of its last earnings report, Netscape shares closed at a then-record $79.75.
In October, Netscape surprised investors by reporting a third-quarter profit, also on a
huge revenue gain of 75%, just a few months after its prospectus had warned of
operating losses "for the foreseeable future." Net income was $1.4 million, or four cents
a share, in the third quarter, compared with the five-cent-a-share loss analysts had
expected. In the year-earlier third quarter, Netscape had a loss of $1.6 million, or five
cents a share.
Netscape reported revenue for the year ended December 31, 1995, of $80.7 million.
"Netscape has shown tremendous growth in its first full year of product shipments,
becoming what we believe to be one of the fastest growing companies in history based
on first-year revenues," said Jim Barksdale, president and chief executive officer of the
company. |
