Funny how LU/PERI are still swimming in the same sea:
Inference Reports 2nd Consecutive Quarter of Profitability; Product Revenues Increase 40%
NOVATO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 25, 1999--Inference Corp.
(NASDAQ: INFR), today reported its second consecutive profitable
quarter on a 40 percent year over year increase in product revenues
for the fourth quarter ended January 31, 1999.
Total revenues for the fourth quarter increased to $8.9 million
from $7.4 million during the fourth quarter of fiscal 1998. Product
revenues for the fourth quarter were $5.5 million, an increase of 40
percent compared with $4.0 million during the same quarter last year.
Operating income for the quarter was $0.7 million, compared with an
operating loss of $0.2 million during the fourth quarter last year.
Net income for the quarter amounted to $0.9 million, or 12 cents per
share, compared with net income of $0.1 million, or 1 cent per share,
for the same quarter a year ago.
For fiscal 1999, revenues were $31.1 million, compared with $28.2
million in fiscal 1998. Net loss for the year was $1.9 million, or 27
cents per share, compared with net income of $0.6 million, or 8 cents
per share, in fiscal 1998, which included net proceeds of $3.8
million, or 48 cents per share, from the Company's sale of an
investment. Excluding this gain, the Company would have incurred a net
loss of $3.2 million or 40 cents per share, for the prior year.
"During the fourth quarter, we took further steps to build a
solid foundation for future successes with strong sales in the
Americas, expansion of our sales organization worldwide, and the
on-time shipment of k-Commerce(TM) Support 4.0 with its associated
partnerships," said Charles W. Jepson, president and chief executive
officer.
"This week, we announced a new agreement with eGain(TM)
Communications Corp. to resell its eGain EMS (Email Management System)
product line. This agreement adds a significant new partner to the
previously announced agreement with eShare(TM) Technologies, Inc. to
resell its NetAgent(TM) product line for chat-based interactive
customer service, as well as two joint marketing agreements with
Periphonics(TM) Corporation for Interactive Voice Response and Kana
Communications(TM), Inc. for email tracking. Also earlier this month
we named Nobby Akiha as our new vice president of acquisitions to
focus on external opportunities to fuel more aggressive growth by
increasing the breadth and depth of our k-Commerce product and service
offerings.
"Our management team recognizes that significant work remains to
continue to build profitable growth in the future," continued Jepson.
"We must further improve our sales productivity and shorten the
learning curve for new sales representatives. We need to increase our
position in the customer service market while extending our k-Commerce
product line to help our customers sell and support their products
more effectively across the Contact Center," concluded Jepson.
Revenues from Americas operations were $5.6 million, a 42 percent
increase from $3.9 million during the same quarter last year. Product
revenues from Americas operations were $3.5 million, a 70 percent
increase from $2.1 million for the same quarter last year.
International revenues for the quarter were $3.3 million, a 4 percent
decrease from $3.5 million a year earlier. International product
revenues were $2.0 million, up from $1.9 million in the fourth quarter
of fiscal 1998.
Significant fourth quarter transactions included Nextel
Communications, Lucent Technologies, Bass Brewers, and the Inland
Revenue Service, which is responsible for tax administration in the
United Kingdom.
Other Related Financial Information:
-- Cash and cash equivalents were $25.8 million at January 31, 1999,
an increase of $1.0 million from the third quarter of fiscal
1999.
-- No shares were repurchased during the quarter under the company's
stock repurchase program. The common shares outstanding at
quarter end were 7.0 million. For all of fiscal 1999, the company
repurchased 674,000 shares at a total cost of $2.8 million.
-- Fourth quarter DSO was 71 days compared with 61 days at the end
of the third quarter, which had been impacted by an upfront
customer payment.
In addition to historical information contained herein, this news
release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to
certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from the results discussed herein.
Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include,
but are not limited to, size and timing of customer orders for product
licenses; timely release and acceptance of new products, including the
company's recently announced k-Commerce Support suite of products;
ability to attract, train and retain key personnel; ability to acquire
and integrate new entities; dependence on partner relationships and
products; ability to control costs; and competitive actions in the
marketplace. Further information on potential factors that may affect
future results are discussed in greater detail in the Company's public
reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including
the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form
10-Q.
INFERENCE CORPORATION
Inference Corporation (NASDAQ: INFR) provides software and
services for customer self-service across the Web and the Contact
Center. Inference's k-Commerce product suite is the first customer
relationship management software that provides conversation-based
knowledge-driven answers and solutions to customers across the entire
customer Contact Center, including the Call Center, the Web, E-Mail,
Interactive Voice Response and Chat.
Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay area, with international
headquarters near London, England, Inference supports its customers
from offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific through
a global professional service and support organization. For further
information, contact Inference at 415/893-7200, send an e-mail to
info@inference.com or visit www.inference.com.
The Inference logo, the k-Commerce logo and k-Commerce are
trademarks of Inference Corporation. All other company names and
products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
companies. |
