Business intelligence concern Brio Technology Inc reported fourth quarter net income of $0.83m compared with a loss of $1.3m last time on revenue up 73% at $14.2m over $8.2m last time. Earnings per share were $0.05, a penny ahead of expectations. For the year Brio recorded a net loss of $0.88m including a $1.7m write-off for the acquisition of MerlinSoft Inc on revenue which rose 74% to $46.5m over $26.8m. Revenue from secret products based upon the MerlinSoft acquisition will follow next quarter.
Licenses were 75% of sales, services were 25% in the period. North America revenue was 83% of revenue in the quarter up 4%; international revenue was 17% down from 21% last time. For the year the mix was 83%-17% compared with 81%-19% in 1998. 17% of sales were indirect in the fourth quarter, down 4%; and 15% for the full year, the same as 1998.
It agreed to buy enterprise reporting company Sqribe Technologies for $270m in the quarter – Brio will hold 55% of the combined company, Sqribe 45%. The company’s merger with Sqribe was instigated to offer some protection from the OLAP shake-down according to our industry watchers. They say that as IBM, Oracle, Hyperion Solutions and begin to exert a vice-like grip on the OLAP market, niche vendors, such as Brio, are unable to play the commoditization game and have found themselves becoming increasingly marginalized. The acquisition will close in July but won’t be accretive until next year. It also released version 6.0 of its analysis tools.
