Corel Corp CEO Michael Cowpland says his company is still on target to return to profitability by the end of its financial year, as it had promised earlier. He said the current third quarter, which ends August 30, would see operational profitability before the effect of one-time charges related to the company’s restructuring in June which saw about one-third of the overall workforce lose their jobs (CI No 3,439). The fourth quarter should see the company solidly in the black, Cowpland said. He feels that now is the key turnaround time at Corel and seems confident that the company’s share price – now languishing at the $1.50 level, just above a 52-week low and $5 below the high for that same period – will rise from the ashes. The stock hasn’t traded above $3 since last November and trading volume has steadily slowed to a near standstill. This will change, Cowpland feels, as investors take notice of the next two quarters’ results and begin to understand the strategies and products that will fuel sustained revenue growth at the company. He points out that Corel has a quarterly sales run rate similar to that of Citrix Systems Inc, whose market capitalization is nearly $3bn, while Corel’s is now just shy of $90m. Going forward, Corel sees itself being the graphics leader across all products, the solid number two player in the productivity suites market, and capitalizing on Java and Linux – the jBridge product is just hitting its stride as a revenue producer, according to Cowpland, and he says the company expects to generate lots of revenue from Linux as a leader in that space.
