Niku surpasses 1Q forecasts

Niku (Nasdaq: NIKU) lost less than analysts expected in its first quarter as a public company.

After market close Thursday, the provider of software and an online marketplace for IT services reported a first quarter loss of $13.1 million, or 19 cents per share, not counting amortization. First Call's survey of three analysts predicted a loss of 24 cents per share for the quarter ended April 29.

Including amortization, Niku lost $26.9 million, or 54 cents per share.

First quarter revenue increased to $8.6 million, up 66 percent from the previous quarter's $5.2 million. License fees generated $5.6 million in the first quarter. Services revenue was $2.5 million. Marketplace revenue increased to $400,000.

Niku went public in February. Shares closed Thursday's regular trading down 1/4 to 26 1/4, prior to the quarterly report.

Publicly-traded competitors of Niku include Opus360 (Nasdaq: OPUS), according to Hoovers Online.>