OPWV (run from$25-$38) Q3 profit matches estimates
(UPDATE: Adds byline; dateline, previous REDWOOD CITY; recasts lead; adds conference call details; and changes throughout)
By Yukari Iwatani
CHICAGO, April 18 (Reuters) - Openwave Systems Inc. (NasdaqNM:OPWV - news) on Wednesday reported a fiscal third-quarter profit that matched Wall Street estimates as the communications software provider benefited from a boost in mobile Internet subscribers.
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``There's a new tone of seriousness at our customers,'' Don Listwin, president and chief executive of Openwave, said in a conference call with analysts.
``Carriers are facing a continued decline in traditional voice revenues and are now seriously turning to data as a critical source of service revenue,'' he said.
Openwave makes software that enables users to access information on the Internet through wireless connections.
The Redwood City, Calif.-based firm said pro forma earnings, excluding special items, in the fiscal third quarter ended March 31 were $16.3 million, or 9 cents a diluted share.
Analysts on average were expecting Openwave to report earnings of 9 cents a share with estimates ranging from 6 cents to 10 cents.
Special items included merger and acquisition related charges, stock-based compensation, and unrealized losses on non-marketable equity securities.
Net losses for the quarter totaled $151.2 million, or 91 cents a diluted share, compared with a loss of $77.5 million, or 56 cents a share, a year ago.
Openwave's revenues for the quarter rose to $130 million from $38.8 million a year ago, helped by a resurgence in its messaging business in Asia and continued growth in wireless subscriber additions.
Total active mobile subscribers using Openwave products grew by 5.3 million to over 17.4 million at the end of March. This compares with 12.1 million subscribers at the end of December.
With the solid results, Alan Black, Openwave's chief financial officer, said the company was on track to turn a profit in the next 12 to 18 months.
Black expressed confidence about meeting its year-end targets in a telephone interview with Reuters.
``There are many things that are happening in the industry that are positive for us and we think we're stronger today in terms of our position in this market than 90 days ago, in part because of the problems that other companies are having,'' Black said.
``It's making us stand out and making us a clear winner in the eyes of the customers,'' he added.
Openwave said it still expects revenues to grow 10 percent to 20 percent to about $640 million for its fiscal year. It also expects full-year operating earnings of 46 cents a share, excluding one-time items.
Analysts polled by First Call expect the company to post earnings of 10 cents a share for the fourth quarter and 26 cents a share for its fiscal year ending in June.
Shares of Openwave closed up $3.01, or 10 percent, at $33 on Nasdaq prior to the news |
