CompuServe Corp took a battering from a bear market with a sore nose yesterday as it said its expects second quarter net losses double what it had previously forecast. The shares closed down $1.25, or 12.2% at $9.25, after hitting $9 at one point, The previous 52-week low had been $10. CompuServe says it now expects the losses to come in at between $0.22 and $0.27 per share for the quarter ending October 31, having previously thought they would be between $0.10 and $0.15. The increased losses are due to late shipment of version 3. 0 of its software, which will be out this month, rather than last, and a net decrease in its subscriber base by 44,000 to 3.02 million, despite signing 350,000 new subscribers, which must be particularly worrying for the Columbus, Ohio service provider. Version 3.0 will have to give users a reason to subscribe to CompuServe again, before the rot sets in irreversibly. The numbers are due out the week beginning November 18.
