The Darmstadt, Germany-based company, which is still on the lookout for a permanent new chairman and CEO after Dr Erwin Koenigs resigned from its executive board in December, also reported revenue down 19.3% at 475m euros ($515m) for the full year, compared to 588.5m euros ($638.5m) in full year 2001.
Software AG said the figures indicate that its revenue had stabilized on a lowered level, with revenue in the fourth quarter up 4.8% sequentially, in line with seasonal variations. Net income figures for the quarter and full year were not revealed by the company, other than that it stayed in the black and increased liquidity.
Income figures, and other financial details will be revealed when the company makes its formal audited report on March 6. However, the company did state that earnings per share for fiscal year 2002 are expected to be above one euro.
In the meantime, Software AG’s preliminary figures indicate that it continues to rely on its maintenance business. In the fourth quarter, maintenance accounted for 42% of the company’s total revenue, compared to software licensing with 26%, and services with 32%. In the same quarter last year, the three divisions accounted for 33%, 35% and 32% of total revenue respectively.
For the full year, the maintenance business accounted for 42% of total revenue, software licensing 24%, and services 34%. This compared to 33%, 34%, and 32% in full-year 2001. The company said: The slump in sales is an expression of the weakness in demand for new electronic business technologies, and also for investments made in replacement and expansion.
Of the 31.5m euros ($34.2m) earned from licensing in the fourth quarter, 75% came from traditional mainframe products, while just 25% came from electronic business product, such as the company’s Tamino XML server.
Looking ahead, the company said it does not expect to see any major changes in the market environment during 2003, and said total revenue and operating results will be broadly similar to the full-year 2002 figures.
Source: Computerwire
