They beat the street.
UPDATE 1-Portal Software fourth quarter beats Wall Street
(adds CEO comments, year figures, PVS CUPERTINO, Calif. byline)
NEW YORK, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Portal Software Inc. (NASDAQ:PRSF), a maker of telecommunications billing software, on Wednesday posted fourth-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations as more companies chose Portal's off-the-shelf software products instead of custom-made competitors.
For the quarter ended January 31, Portal said pro forma earnings reached $6.9 million, or 4 cents a share, before costs related to a $25 million acquisition of SOLUTION42, compared with the $369,000 in the year-earlier period in which the company broke even.
The net loss in the fourth quarter, after acquisition costs, was $18 million, or 11 cents per diluted share.
Analysts had expected the company to earn 3 cents a share, according to research firm First Call/Thomson Financial.
The company said revenues rose 108 percent to $81.1 million, compared with $39 million in the year-ago quarter.
Despite the quarter's results, the company said it would take a cautious approach on the current year.
"Basically it's a comment on the overall macroeconomic condition," John Little, Portal's chief executive and founder, told Reuters. "What we're saying is it's very difficult to predict the economic future.
"The economic reality will occur," he said, adding the company is positioning itself to steer through the hard times in the telecommunications industry and the worldwide impact of the U.S. economic slowdown.
Shares of Portal on Wednesday closed down nearly 2 percent, or 3/16, to 9-3/4. Meanwhile the Nasdaq Composite Index also closed off about 2 percent.
Shares of Portal are off nearly 89 percent from their 52-week high of $86 while the Nasdaq Composite Index is off 56 percent.
For fiscal-year 2001, the company reported pro forma net income of $22.6 million, or 13 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $7.6 million, or a loss of 5 cents a share, for fiscal-year 2000.
The company generated $268 million in revenue in fiscal 2001, up 160 percent from the $103 million for fiscal year 2000. |
