Ariba Warns of Second-Quarter Loss Will Cut One-Third of Work Force
Reuters
NEW YORK (April 2) - Business-to-business software company Ariba Inc. on Monday warned its second-quarter results would fall far short of expectations, and said it would cut about one-third of its work force as customers delayed purchases.
Ariba also said it was scrapping its planned acquisition of Agile Software Inc. The deal was valued at $2.55 billion when it was originally announced in January, but has since fallen to about $400 million following a steep drop in Ariba stock.
Ariba said it expected to post a loss of 20 cents a share, excluding non-cash charges. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call were expecting the company to post a profit of 5 cents a share.
The company said revenues were expected to be about $90 million, or about half the Wall Street consensus of around $180 million, according First Call.
''At the end of the quarter, we experienced a large unexpected drop-off in our sales closure,'' Ariba Chairman Keith Krach said in a statement. ''While many customers selected Ariba's technology, spending decisions at the executive level were postponed as customers evaluated their budgets in light of the prevailing economic uncertainty.''
While the impact was felt primarily in North America, it was beginning to be felt in Europe, Krach said.
''The magnitude of the shortfall is quite disturbing,'' said Ben Rose, an analyst with Adams, Harkness & Hill Inc.
Ariba announced in January it would buy Ariba, whose software helps manufacturers share information with their suppliers. At the time, Ariba stock was worth about $40, but it has since fallen to $6-17/32.
The companies said in a joint release that they were scrapping the deal without payment of any termination fees.
Ariba also said it expected to take significant one-time write-offs for investments, real estate commitments and other items.
''Under current market conditions, the predictability of our business going forward is very limited, so it's important to realign our own expense structure immediately,'' Chief Financial Officer Bob Calderoni said in a statement.
Reut16:56 04-02-01 |
