Progress doubles income

The maker of application development and deployment tools made $22.8 million, or $1.18 per share, for the fiscal year ended November 30, 135 percent more than the $9.7 million, or 53 cents per share, the Bedford, Massachusetts-based firm made in 1997.

"Our financial results were powered by the fact that [independent software vendors] sold more applications than in previous years," said Joseph Alsop, Progress's president. "We were also pleased by the adoption rate of our Internet-based products among some of the world's most progressive and result-oriented companies."

Much of Progress's income comes from other software vendors who use Progress's development tools to build their own software.

Progress's revenue for the year rose 27 percent to $239.9 million from $188.3 million in 1997. The results for 1997 do not include a one-time charge of $11.5 million for software development and write-offs related to the acquisition of Apptivity Corporation.

Revenue for the fourth quarter this year rose 32 percent from the like period last year to $69.2 million. Profits were $8.4 million for the recent quarter, up 127 percent from the $3.7 million posted last year's fourth quarter. Diluted earnings per share were 43 cents this year compared to 20 cents per share last year.