X

Earnings Roundup: Siebel Systems flies past 3Q forecasts

2 min read

Siebel Systems zipped past analysts' estimates in its third quarter Tuesday, earning $71 million, or 14 cents a share, on sales of $480.9 million.

Analysts surveyed by First Call Corp. predicted the software developer would earn 11 cents a share in the quarter.

Siebel (Nasdaq: SEBL) shares closed up $2.94 to $112.75 ahead of the earnings report.

The $480.9 million in sales represents a 131 percent jump from the year-ago quarter when it pocketed $27.3 million, or 6 cents a share, on sales of $208.5 million.

In the quarter, licensing sales rose to $300.4 million, up from $127.7 million a year ago. Revenue from maintenance, consulting and other services stormed up to $180.6 million, compared with $80.8 in the year-ago quarter.

Last quarter, Siebel beat the Street when it returned a profit of $54.8 million, or 22 cents a share, on sales of $387.4 million.

Its shares moved up to a 52-week high of $118.44 in September after falling to a low of $23.06 last October. The stock also split 2-for-1 in September.

Analysts are expecting a profit of 44 cents a share in the fiscal year.

Among other software firms reporting earnings after the bell Tuesday:

  • BMC Software (Nasdaq: BMCS) met analysts' estimates in its second quarter Tuesday but its total sales fell 22 percent from the year-ago quarter.

    In the quarter, BMC earned $27.9 million, or 11 cents a share, on sales of $323 million.

    In the year-ago quarter, BMC raked in $110.4 million, or 44 cents a share, on sales of $415.7 million.

    Including a variety of one-time charges, BMC lost $12.5 million, or 5 cents a share, in the quarter.

    "The second quarter of our fiscal 2001 presented us with challenges similar to those that we experienced during the first quarter," said CEO Max Watson in a prepared release. "We continue to see a reluctance among customers to commit to large enterprise license transactions as the mainframe market remains soft."

    BMC shares closed up 63 cents to $18.44 ahead of the earnings report.

  • Computer Associates (NYSE: CA) topped analysts' reduced estimates in its second quarter, earning $321 million, or 54 cents a share, on sales of $1.68 billion.

    First Call Corp. consensus expected the software developer to earn 52 cents a share in the quarter.

    Analysts lowered their estimates from 56 cents a share earlier this quarter after the company warned that sluggish sales would dent its bottom line.

    The stock closed up $1.06 to $26.69 ahead of the earnings report.