UPDATE 1-TIBCO third-quarter earnings match Street forecast
September 20, 2001 7:29:00 PM ET
(Recasts, adds forecast, additional financial information, company and analyst comments, details, byline)
By Lisa Baertlein
PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept 20 (Reuters) - TIBCO Software Inc. (TIBX) on Thursday posted third-quarter results, excluding charges, that matched Wall Street's per-share earnings estimate, as the company controlled expenses to offset revenues that fell short of analysts' expectations.
TIBCO Chairman and Chief Executive Vivek Ranadive told Reuters that the company expects fourth-quarter earnings and revenues to be sequentially flat -- with one caveat.
"We don't know what the impact of last week's events will be," Ranadive said.
Given the uncertainty arising out of Sept. 11's deadly attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center, company officials said they would deliver 2002 guidance at a later date.
Analysts' current fourth-quarter consensus forecast is for earnings of 5 cents a share on revenue of $86.3 million, according to research firm Thomson Financial/First Call.
News and information provider Reuters Group Plc (RTRSY) holds a majority stake in TIBCO.
COST-CUTTING AMID WEAK DEMAND
"They, all things considered, executed well on the cost side and balance sheet side in an overall weak demand environment," Bear Stearns analyst David Breiner said, after the Palo Alto, California-based systems integration software vendor matched analysts' consensus estimate for earnings of 4 cents a share.
"You have to give them credit for managing the expenses as well as they did," agreed First Union Securities Inc. analyst Jason Maynard.
Corresponding quarterly pro-forma net income was $8.7 million, excluding stock-based compensation charges, restructuring charges, acquisition-related charges and realized losses on equity investments. Comparable year-ago figures were not given.
Net income for the quarter ended Aug. 31 declined to $6.9 million, or 3 cents per diluted share, versus $10.5 million, or 5 cents per diluted share.
Total revenues grew 12 percent to $75.2 million from $67.2 million in the year-ago period as software license revenues -- a key measure of company performance -- fell slightly to $47.6 million.
"It's not like it's a shocker," said Maynard, who added that his peers had been looking for license revenues in the $50 million range amid what is believed to be the worst tech sector downturn in history.
Ranadive said TIBCO's European business remains strong and that the company's top two deals -- with wireless vendor Hutchinson 3G and energy company BP International -- came out of the region in the third quarter.
Company shares, which finished 19 cents higher at $6.29 on Thursday on Nasdaq, fell as low as $6 immediately following TIBCO's earnings announcement but settled around $6.40 in after-hours trade on Instinet.
Over the last 52 weeks, the price of TIBCO's stock has fallen about 91 percent. REUTERS
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