The turnaround is occurring:
Inktomi posts smaller Q1 net loss
FOSTER CITY, Calif., Jan 16 (Reuters) - Inktomi Corp. on Wednesday posted a smaller first-quarter net loss and beat Wall Street estimates, excluding charges, as the Internet search and content delivery company signed up big new corporate customers.
Inktomi executives said they expected the second quarter to shape up much like the first and although they were confident the company would return to pro forma profitability at some point, a cautious stance was needed amid the gloomy economy.
``We believe that the macroeconomic climate will overshadow our strong product position,'' Chief Executive David Peterschmidt told a conference call.
For the first fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, Inktomi's net loss including charges was $29.4 million, or 22 cents a share, compared to a loss of $38.1 million, or 31 cents a share, a year earlier.
The Foster City, California-based firm said its pro forma loss -- which excludes charges -- was $7.7 million, or 6 cents a share, compared to a profit of $3.7 million, or 3 cents a share, a year earlier.
Inktomi was expected to post a pro forma loss of between 9 cents and 15 cents a share, with a consensus estimate of 11 cents, according to analyst forecasts compiled by Wall Street tracking firm Thomson Financial/First Call.
CUSTOMERS MOVING CAUTIOUSLY
Revenues at the company, whose Internet search technology powers Web networks like AOL Time Warner's (NYSE:AOL - news) AOL and Microsoft Corp.'s (NasdaqNM:MSFT - news) MSN, fell to $40 million from $75.4 million a year earlier.
Inktomi, which also makes software for delivering content over computer networks, said it added big enterprise customers like Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE:TXN - news) and Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - news) in the quarter.
``We made steady progress in a quarter that continued to be marked by a challenging global business environment,'' Peterschmidt said in a statement.
But Peterschmidt told the conference call it appeared that some customers were taking a slow approach to rolling out new projects and approving technology budgets.
Chief Financial Officer Jerry Kennelly said on the call Inktomi expected second-quarter results to be roughly flat with the first quarter, with a pro forma net loss of between 5 cents and 7 cents on revenues of between $39 million and $40 million for the second quarter.
Inktomi stock rose as much as 5 percent, to $7.00 a share in after-hours trading, after falling 6.5 percent, to $6.66 in regular Nasdaq trade on Wednesday. The stock has fallen from a 52-week high of $20, but has rebounded off a year low of $2.20 last September. |
