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Net earnings roundup: VeriSign, Vignette lead parade

Larry Dignan
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Larry Dignan
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VeriSign and Vignette led a slew of upside surprises from Internet companies Wednesday. Phone.com, Extreme Networks and Ticketmaster-CitySearch also reported.

VeriSign (Nasdaq: VRSN) reported a first quarter pro forma profit of $2.2 million, or 2 cents a share, on sales of $34.1 million. First Call was expecting a profit of a penny a share.

VeriSign provides authentication, validation and payment software.

Including the amortization of goodwill and other intangibles and realized gains on investments, VeriSign reported a net loss of $26.2 million, or 24 cents a share, in the quarter. VeriSign had goodwill amortization of $61 million related to the purchase acquisitions of Thawte Consulting and Signio in the first quarter, and a one-time gain of $32.6 million from the sale of Keynote Systems common stock as part of their secondary offering.

VeriSign's biggest acquisition -- the pending purchase of Network Solutions (Nasdaq: NSOL) is expected to close in the third quarter. VeriSign and Network Solutions agreed to merge last month.

  • Vignette (Nasdaq: VIGN), which makes Internet content management software, broke even in the first quarter on a pro forma basis, topping First Call estimates. Wall Street was expecting a loss of 2 cents a share.

    The company reported record revenue of $55.2 million in the first quarter, up 505 percent from $9.1 million a year ago.

    Vignette gave a series of figures for its quarter to account for various charges and other items. Operating loss from core operations, which excludes acquisition-related charges, amortization of deferred stock compensation, amortization of intangibles and interest income, was $5.3 million, said Vignette. Net income from core operations was $432,000, or break even on a per share basis.

    Net loss including charges was $83.5 million, or 47 cents a share.

    Among other Net earnings Wednesday:

  • Alteon Websystems (Nasdaq: ATON) reported a fiscal third quarter net loss of $1 million, or 3 cents a share. First Call consensus was expecting a loss of 14 cents a share. Revenue was $28.2 million, up 65 percent from the $17.1 million reported in the second quarter.

  • Extreme Networks (Nasdaq: EXTR) earned $9.1 million, or 16 cents a share, in its fiscal third quarter. The results handily beat First Call estimates of 12 cents a share. Revenue came in at $67.3 million, up 131 percent from the same quarter a year ago.

  • Phone.com (Nasdaq: PHCM), a wireless Internet software provider, reported a fiscal third quarter loss of $5.9 million, or 8 cents a share, excluding one-time items. First Call was expecting a loss of 16 cents a share. Including amortization of goodwill and deferred stock compensation related to acquisitions and a charge for in-process research and development expense, the company reported a loss of $74.6 million, or $1.05 a share.

    Revenue surged to $18.7 million, compared to $3.5 million in the same quarter a year ago.

  • Ticketmaster-CitySearch (Nasdaq: TMCS) reported a net loss of $48.6 million, or 57 cents a share, on sales of $46.5 million. Of the company's sales, ticketing brought in the most revenue at $28.6 million. Sales related to the company's local city guides were $14.4 million with advertising making up the remainder.

    In the quarter, Ticketmaster-CitySearch recorded an estimated 765 million page views, up 21.5 percent sequentially.

  • TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO), an interactive TV provider, reported a first quarter loss of $24 million, or 68 cents a share, on revenue of $424,000. Losses widened from a year ago, but were smaller than the fourth quarter. First Call consensus was expecting a loss of 73 cents a share.


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