Earnings Roundup: PeopleSoft, Siebel, RealNetworks surprise Street
PeopleSoft Inc. (Nasdaq: PSFT) managed to beat Street estimates by a penny a share in its third quarter Tuesday, but its sales and earnings slumped dramatically from the year-ago period.
The Pleasanton, Calif. company earned $5.2 million, or 2 cents a share, on sales of $303 million.
The $303 million in sales represents a 16 percent decline compared to the year-ago period when it made $44.1 million, or 17 cents a share, on sales of $351 million.
Its shares closed up 3/16 to 15 ahead of the earnings report.
In the quarter, license fees represented $48.8 million of the company's total sales while services sales and international sales accounted for $245.7 million and $59.4 million, respectively.
"1999 has been a transition year for PeopleSoft and the ERP industry," said CEO Craig Conway in a prepared release. "We are achieving our goal of delivering a new generation of enterprise applications that provide a 360 degree view of an enterprise's customers, suppliers and employees."
PeopleSoft shares have slumped of late after hitting a 52-week high of 26 5/8 last October.
Twenty of the 22 analysts following the stock maintain either a "hold" or "sell" recommendation.
Among other technology companies reporting earnings after the bell Tuesday:
The largest maker of customer relationship management software said Tuesday that for the period ended Sept. 30, net income surged to $30.1 million, or 27 cents a share, from $14.1 million, or 14 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue soared 87 percent to $195.3 million from $104.2 million.
The results topped by two pennies analyst estimates of 25 cents a share, according to First Call.
Siebel also said its 2-for-1 stock split would take effect Nov. 12 for stockholders of record Nov. 1.
First Call consensus expected the online broadcaster to earn 4 cents a share in the quarter.
The $34.9 million in sales marks a 97 percent improvement versus the year-ago period when it lost $2.5 million, or 4 cents a share, on sales of $17.6 million.
"This quarter represents a significant achievement for RealNetworks," said CEO Rob Glaser in a prepared release. "In addition to achieving our 17th consecutive quarter of increased revenue, we have reached the important milestone of profitability."
RealNetworks shares closed up 7 13/16 to 103 7/8 ahead of the earnings report.
The e-business consultant reported net income of $900,000, or 4 cents per share. First Call's survey of seven analysts predicted a profit of 3 cents per share in the September quarter.
Third quarter revenue increased to $19.1 million, almost quintupling year-over-year. Those results don't include the business of i-Cube, whose acquisition was announced in August and is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
Shares of Razorfish increased 1/2 to 51 7/8 in Tuesday's regular trading prior to the earnings report.
First Call consensus expected the online health site to lose 72 cents a share in the quarter.
Its shares closed up 13/16 to 15 ahead of the earnings report.
The $2.9 million in sales was almost a threefold improvement compared to the $1 million it recorded in the year-ago period.
Company officials said total page views in the quarter jumped 46 percent to 40.4 million compared to 27.7 million in the second quarter.
All four analysts following the stock maintain either a "buy" or "strong buy" recommendation.
-- Sergio G. Non contributed to this report.>