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Technology Stocks : Corel Corp. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: hdl who wrote (6221)	2/8/1999 9:13:00 AM
From: VerificateASAP	Respond to of 9798

More news interesting. News February 6, 00:12 Eastern Time Feb. 05, 1999 (Computer Reseller News - CMP via COMTEX) -- Ottawa -- After two years of reshuffling operations and refocusing its technologies, Corel Corp. finally emerged from the red in its final fiscal quarter of 1998. However, the company still faces a long road to consistent profitability, said analysts. Ottawa-based Corel-the company that took on Microsoft Corp. by buying WordPerfect technology from Novell Inc. and parlaying it into a productivity suite-has struggled since its fourth quarter of 1996, sometimes posting losses of tens of millions of dollars. However, its cost-cutting efforts paid off last quarter when revenue reached $67.2 million, compared with $43.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1997. Income for the quarter was $6.8 million, or 10 cents per share, compared with a loss of $66.9 million, or $1.10 per share, in the same period last year. First Call Corp. analysts had expected Corel to lose 2 cents per share in its fourth quarter. Financial analysts said Corel-which has lost the attention of many Wall Street analysts-still lost money for fiscal 1998. "They turned a small profit on one quarter out of a year where they lost money for the year," said Jeff Tarter, publisher of Softletter, an industry newsletter based in Watertown, Mass. "They are probably headed to a turnaround, but one quarter really doesn't indicate very much." The secret to Corel's fourth-quarter turn-around was a focus on its two core applications-market-leading CorelDraw and the solid-but-distant No. 2 (to Microsoft's Office) WordPerfect suite. To focus on its core applications, Corel twice traded technology for a stake in a smaller company. The vendor abandoned in-house development of its jBridge Java initiative in December 1998 when it sold jBridge to GraphOn Corp., a provider of thin-client technology for Unix. In exchange for the technology, Corel acquired a 25 percent stake in GraphOn. "By merging our efforts together with GraphOn, we'll be able to focus on our core brands," said Michael Cowpland, Corel's president and chief executive. Likewise, Corel last month transferred its network computer line, NetWinder, to reseller Hardware Computing Canada in exchange for 25 percent of the company, which generates $60 million in sales per year. The measures may have worked, Tarter said. "I think they're getting a lot more focused," he said. However, Corel faces a unique strategic challenge in positioning its two flagship products for the future, said Tarter. While CorelDraw is a market leader, WordPerfect's No. 2 status leaves the company aiming for further dominance in one category and picking up leftovers in another. "You manage [CorelDraw] as a cash cow, yet the office suite is small," Tarter said. "It's inherently unfocused. They're sweeping up on both ends." Nevertheless, Corel is moving forward with newfound profitability, and the company also is beginning to employ a strategy of providing Web-based training, a sign that Corel will have a growing presence online, Cowpland said. "We've made a complete corporate commitment to make Corel think Web in everything we do," he said. Hdl have you have ever contributed anything inteligent to this forum? Are you just a kid from high school? Please grow up. All other Corel faithfuls this is todays contribution.