If SEGU trades at that kind of discount to cash I'll be surprised...
Surprise! Send out the clowns <g>.
Regards,
--QwikSand
Segue falls with earns revision, revenue view
Reuters, Monday, April 12, 1999 at 12:51
By Ian Simpson
NEW YORK, April 12 (Reuters) - Segue Software Inc. (NASDAQ:SEGU) revised its fourth-quarter and 1998 results Monday, posting a loss for the year, and forecast first-quarter revenues that were well below analysts' estimates.
Segue, a maker of software that monitors performance of Internet-based businesses, said in a statement that inappropriate sales practices had partly caused the revision.
The news helped drive Segue shares to a 12-month low. The stock was down 1 point in heavy trade to 5-11/16, and dipped to 4-1/2 before recovering.
Segue said it was revising its results for the fourth-quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 1998. It also restated last year's third-quarter results of operations.
The business management software company said consolidated revenues for the fourth quarter were trimmed to $11.2 million from $12 million.
One-time charges were raised to $2.2 million from $1.5 million. The pro forma loss for the quarter widened to a $870,000 from $175,000.
For the year, revenues fell to $40.8 million from $42 million. Excluding the one-time charge, Segue posted a $697,000 loss, down from a previously announced profit of $309,000.
Segue also restated its third-quarter 1998 results. Revenues were trimmed to $9.9 million from a reported $10.2 million.
Net income was cut to $586,000 from $897,000. The restatement was associated with the non-compliance with sales policies.
The fourth-quarter revision has two components. The first is a $667,000 one-time charge from the write-off of fees and royalties related to Segue's reseller agreement with Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ:SUNW).
Segue has decided to stop the reselling deal because of lack of sales, the statement said.
In a second component, five sales transactions were reversed, resulting in a net adjustment of $745,000.
Chuck Conley, a Segue spokesman, said the reversals stemmed from inappropriate sales practices in the company's central region, from central Canada to Texas.
"They were just something that the company doesn't use ... under our standard policies," he said. The employees responsible have left the company.
Segue also said it expected first-quarter revenues to be in the range of $8.3 million to $8.8 million, compared with revenues of $8.6 million for the same period a year before.
Analysts said the revenue forecast was far below their own estimates.
Damian Rinaldi, with First Albany Corp., said he had put revenues at just under $13 million. Alex Arnold, an analyst with H.C. Wainwright & Co., said he had estimated them at about $14 million.
"The market was basing its valuation on something that wasn't there," Arnold said. He added that he had cut his rating on the stock to sell from buy.
He and Rinaldi said the drop in price had boosted Segue's potential as a takeover target.
Copyright 1999, Reuters News Service |
