PLEASANTON: Business automation software maker PeopleSoft Inc. on Thursday
posted earnings that rose 28 per cent year-over-year, in line with company
estimates, although software sales slipped 13 per cent amid still-soft demand
for high-tech products.
The Pleasanton, California maker of software that automates human resources,
accounting, selling and other corporate tasks, said its earnings from recurring
operations were $46 million, or 14 cents per share, compared with earnings of
$36 million, or 11 cents, in the year-ago quarter.
Total revenue fell to $483.3 million from $514.2 million as software license
sales, a key gauge of performance, stumbled to $133.3 million versus last year's
$153.3 million.
"PeopleSoft was not immune to the slowdown in technology spending in the
first quarter," Craig Conway, PeopleSoft's president and chief executive,
said in a statement.
On April 1, PeopleSoft had said its quarterly earnings would be 14 cents a
share, hitting the low end of previous guidance for a profit of 14 cents to 15
cents a share. It also warned that software license revenue would be $130
million to $135 million, below its prior forecast of about $160 million.
'Comeback kid'
PeopleSoft is considered by some investors and analysts to be the software
sector's "comeback kid." In recent quarters, the company has reported
positive year-over-year earnings growth on sales of its rewritten Web-based
software while rivals such as Oracle Corp. and Siebel Systems Inc. have
struggled to get their arms around declining profits.
The company, however, was floundering in the late 1990s when those
competitors were growing like gangbusters. Nevertheless, software sales in the
recently completed quarter posted less steep declines at PeopleSoft than Siebel
Systems' 27 per cent drop and Oracle's 29 per cent fall-off.
PeopleSoft's revenue warning earlier this month, however, tempered investor
optimism and sent company shares sharply lower. The stock, which finished 59
cents easier at $21.89 in regular Nasdaq trade, is down about about 44 per cent
so far this year. Elsewhere, shares of Oracle and Siebel Systems are off 24 per
cent and 15 per cent respectively.