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Quarterdeck taps new credit

Fighting to boost revenues amid a string of losses, the utilities maker says it has secured a $12 million line of credit.

CNET News staff
Quarterdeck (QDEK), which is fighting to boost revenues amid a string of losses, today announced it secured a $12 million line of credit.

Shares of Quarterdeck rose as high as 13.3 percent to 2-13/16 in morning trading, up from its close Friday of 2-7/16.

The utilities company, which received its credit line from a division of NationsBank, replaces an existing line of credit, except the new one comes with fewer restrictions and an extended timeline for payment.

Quarterdeck, which had $9 million in cash at the end of the March quarter, posted a slight profit of $20,000 in the first quarter following three consecutive quarters of losses.

Revenues in the quarter fell nearly 50 percent to $24.4 million compared with the first quarter a year ago. The decline was attributed to sluggish sales in some of its memory management and Internet communications products.

Quarterdeck's stock has lost two-thirds of its value from a peak of around 6-1/4 in early February.

As the company searches for new sources of revenues, it is paring its lineup of products. The company recently said its will phase out a number of its Internet products, including WebTalk, WebAuthor, TotalWeb, and Mosaic, spokeswoman Ana Thorne said in an earlier CNET interview. Other products could follow, she added, but no plans have been finalized.

Meanwhile, Quarterdeck is looking at charging a fee for a premium help service, in which customers who don't want to wait on the phone can pay to receive immediate service.