Net software company delivers top and bottom line
Inktomi shares could see Friday pop
By Bambi Francisco, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 5:17 PM ET Apr 15, 1999 Internet Daily
Net headlines
SAN MATEO, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- Inktomi shares could snap back on Friday after the Internet software company reported second-quarter results that handily beat expectations on revenue that soared four-fold.
Inktomi (INKT: news, msgs) posted a $4.6 million loss, or 9 cents a share, versus a negative 13 cents a year ago. Analysts were expecting a loss of 12 cents.
Quarterly revenues soared to $14.6 million, 15 percent better than projections, up 323 percent from the year-ago period, and up 36 percent from the previous quarter.
"They're showing quality results," said James Wade, Internet analyst at BT Alex Brown. "The company is clearly demonstrating that they are the best of breed in search, caching and going forward, its shopping engine."
Shares of Inktomi rose nearly 3 to 122 in after-market trading on Instinet. Ahead of the results, the stock fell 17 13/16, or 13 percent, to 119 3/16. Inktomi's down 22 percent from a lifetime high of 152 1/4 hit on Monday as investors banked on Inktomi's new shopping engine as among the biggest beneficiaries of the online retailing bonanza.
"The kicker for Inktomi is its opportunity in the shopping side," said Alan Loewenstein, co-portfolio manager for the John Hancock Global Technology Fund. "I'm sure they'll have competitors but I don't think (the competitors) will have the breadth or scalability that Inktomi has."
Since mid-March, the Net software company has corralled 20 portal and 350 merchant partners to sell 2 million products to consumers over the Web. Recently, Inktomi partnered with pcOrder.com (PCOR: news, msgs) to enable consumers to compare prices and products.
Inktomi's strategy is to be the premier outsourcer of scalable shopping technology. The new shopping engine application is expected to displace Inktomi's main caching and search engine products in one to two years.
Bambi Francisco is Internet editor of CBS MarketWatch. She talks markets and Internet stocks on America Online's Live Market Chat each Friday at 2:30 p.m. Eastern time. Sage Online runs the discussion.
Michelle, Just thank God nobody named you "Bambi." :-) |
