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| Friday, July 07, 2006 |
WebMethods sees loss in first quarter, shares plunge
July 7 - WebMethods Inc. on Friday forecast a first-quarter loss as it failed to close some expected transactions, and the business integration software provider lost almost a third of its market value in morning trade.
The company now expects to report a loss of 12 cents to 15 cents a share for its first quarter ended June 30, compared with its April 27 forecast for a profit of 1 cent to 5 cents.
WebMethods also cut its revenue estimate for the quarter to between $44.0 million and $45.5 million from its previous forecast of between $51 million and $53 million, the company said in a statement.
The company had an unusual number of mid-sized and large transactions, particularly in North America, where the customers required additional steps which it failed to anticipate, Chief Executive David Mitchell said.
"We don't believe that our performance in the last quarter was a result of market, competitive or economic factors," Mitchell said on a conference call.
The loss estimate includes about $600,000 on amortization of intangible items, $2.7 million related to stock-based compensation and $200,000 of income tax expense.
Analysts on average expect the company to earn 7 cents a share before special items for the quarter on revenue of $52.5 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
Mitchell said almost all the opportunities it failed to close in the last quarter remained in the company's pipeline and it would continue to aggressively pursue them.
Shares of the company were down $2.65 at $6.93 in morning trade on the Nasdaq after falling to $6.37 soon after the market opened for trading.
WebMethods will report its results on July 27. |
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