Concurrent Computer Corp, which last week reported fourth quarter net losses of $34.1m, and a net loss for the year to June 30 of $39.7m on revenues down 31.6% to $95.8m (CI No 2,989), says that the loss for the fourth quarter, including a $29m charge for restructuring and inventory write-down was not unexpected, due to the prolonged nature of the merger with Harris Computer Systems Corp’s real-time systems business. The two began jostling for positions way back in March 1995, achieving a measure of agreement in November, though the definitive agreement had to wait until June 26 this year. The company is now working on merging its two product lines, and says it expects the integration to be largely completed by September 30. The combined product concept, which favours Harris’ Night Hawk PowerPC systems over Concurrent’s own MIPS R4400-based Maxion range, was presented to the sales force back in July in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Concurrent says the telecommunications market and interactive real-time applications such as video-on-demand, wagering and gaming, give it real opportunities for growth, aside from its solid core real-time business. Meanwhile CyberGuard Corp, the trusted systems division of Harris that did not go to Concurrent, and which is also based in Fort Lauderdale, has sold a total of 8m Concurrent shares, and will use the money to pay off short-term borrowings and establish additional working capital. The move reduces its holdings from 22% to less than 5%. CyberGuard says it doesn’t intend to be a long-term holder of Concurrent shares – it received 10m common and 2.5m preferred in the transaction.
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