BroadVision sees narrow outlook, more job-cuts

Lisa Baertlein

PALO ALTO: Software maker, BroadVision Inc. on Wednesday said its quarterly

revenues for the remainder of the year are expected to be flat with

second-quarter levels. The Redwood City, California-based seller of software

that helps firms personalize Web sites for customers and employees also said it

would lay off up to 300 more workers after its losses grew in the latest second

quarter.

"The second quarter was challenging for us," Pehong Chen,

BroadVision's president and chief executive, said during a conference call with

analysts. Randall Bolten, BroadVision's chief financial officer, said the

company expects third-and fourth-quarter revenue in the range of $50 million to

$60 million, largely unchanged from second-quarter sales of $57.4 million

Revenue in the current third quarter should fall in the low end of the

forecasted range while fourth-quarter sales should be near the high end, said

Bolten, who tendered his resignation in early July.

More job cuts



In an effort to control spending, Chen said the firm would cut an additional
225 to 300 employees, or 15 per cent to 20 per cent, of its 1,500 workers. Since

March 31, BroadVision has trimmed its ranks by about 32 per cent. BroadVision

will book a third-quarter charge related to its latest round of cuts. Chen said

the amount would be much smaller than the $123.5 million restructuring charge

the company booked in its second quarter.

On Wednesday, BroadVision posted a pro forma loss - excluding amortization of

goodwill and acquired technology - of $53.1 million, or 19 cents a share. The

results, which were in line with the warning that BroadVision issued earlier

this month, deteriorated from a year ago when the company posted pro forma net

income of $10.6 million, or 4 cents a share.

Total revenue declined to $57.4 million from $95.3 million a year earlier as

software license revenues, a key measure of performance, dropped to $21 million

from $56.8 million. "The economy's continued weakness significantly

affected our license revenue for the quarter. North American sales were

particularly weak," Chen said.

Including charges related to layoffs and real estate consolidations, the

company's net loss jumped to $242.8 million from second-quarter 2000's net loss

of $54.9 million.

Down but not out



BroadVision had $239 million in cash and investments at the end of its
second quarter ended June 30. Bolten said the company's cash position should be

$180 million at the end of 2001 and should fall no lower than $150 million in

2002. The company expects to return to profitability during the first half of

next year.

"A lot of people want to count us out. They will be making a serious

mistake ... We're alive and well and have no cash issues," Chen said.

"It's a difficult call to make," said Moors Cabot analyst Roy Lobo,

who added that the company's installed base includes committed customers such as

Home Depot Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Sears, Roebuck and Co.

While BroadVision's cash position may provide some comfort to investors, the

company is undertaking the difficult task of rolling out new versions of its

products during trying global economic times, Lobo said. "Their product

transition may be creating some hesitance among customers," he said.

(C) Reuters Limited 2001.