Merisel Inc, the El Segundo, California-based hardware and software distributor, has reported a first-quarter net loss of $20.5m on revenue up 13.9% at $1.26bn, compared to net income of $3.6m, or $0.05 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Results for the quarter include a $21m litigation settlement charge, without which the company would have reported net income of $491,000, or $0.01 per share. Analysts surveyed by First Call were expecting a loss of $0.01 per share for the quarter. Merisel was one of the four distributors selected by Compaq Computer Corp last week when the company pared down its list of partners from 39.
