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White Pine sees slowdown

The videoconferencing software developer's first-quarter revenues may be affected by product delays and lower-priced competing products.

2 min read
Shares of White Pine (WPNE), a videoconferencing software developer that went public last October, fell 20 percent today after the company said first-quarter revenues are expected to take a hit due to product delays and lower-priced competing products.

The company's shares tumbled as low as 2-3/4 in morning trading before closing the day at 3, down 3/4 from yesterday.

The company's shares tumbled as low as 2-3/4 in morning trading, down from yesterday's close of 3-3/4.

White Pine, which made its announcement after the market's close, said its revenues are expected to range from $2.5 million to $2.7 million for the quarter ending April 4, compared with $2.1 million a year ago.

"Revenues from Enhanced CU-SeeMe were adversely affected...by a postponement in the shipping of Enhanced CU-SeeMe 3.0 for Windows from the first quarter until the early second quarter and by increasing competition from Microsoft's NetMeeting, Intel's Internet VideoPhone, and other low-cost, software-only desktop videoconferencing products," said Howard R. Berke, chairman, president, and chief executive, in a statement.

He added that several ongoing negotiations with original equipment makers did not close in the first quarter, but the company is making "significant progress" in the negotiations.

"While a notable number of large corporations are conducting ongoing evaluations of our enterprise-oriented intranet product [WebTerm Toolbox], the sales cycle has proven to be longer than we originally anticipated," Berke added.

The company, which raised $27 million in its IPO, has seen its stock price continue to slide from its share price of 9.