PeopleSoft net down, revenue up

SAN FRANCISCO: Business software company PeopleSoft Inc. posted smaller quarterly net income, on charges related to an acquisition and higher expenses, but its revenue rose, beating expectations.

Net income at the company, which makes software that automates business functions like accounting and human resources, was $17.4 million, or 5 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with $57.4 million, or 18 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue was $685 million, compared with $512 million a year earlier, the Pleasanton, California-based company said.

Software license revenue, a key gauge of future growth, was $185 million, up from $143.2 million a year ago.

Excluding special items, including charges related to the acquisition of J.D. Edwards & Co. and restructuring, the company would have posted earnings of 20 cents a share. On that basis, analysts on average were expecting earnings per share of 19 cents on revenue of $666.2 million, according to Reuters Research, a unit of Reuters Group Plc.

The company had forecast fourth-quarter net earnings of 1 cent to 2 cents a share, or 18 cents to 19 cents excluding items, and total revenue of $625 million to $640 million.

PeopleSoft is fighting off a $7.3 billion hostile takeover bid by Oracle Corp., which is being reviewed by antitrust regulators in the United States and Europe. Germany's SAP AG is the market leader in the business-applications market, followed by PeopleSoft and Oracle.

Shares of PeopleSoft fell in after-hours trade to $22.35 after closing at $22.99 on the Nasdaq.

© Reuters