Sybase Inc, Emeryville, California database software vendor, has reported first-quarter results that show its fourth consecutive profit and the benefits of reduced costs. Net income was $5.9m, or $0.07 per share, blowing away the First Call consensus of $0.01. Revenue for the quarter edged up to $208.3m from $206.8m. The year-ago quarter, by contrast, saw a loss of $81.2m, or $1.01 per share, which included a $51.7m restructuring charge. Excluding those charges, the company still had an operating loss of $29.6m, or $0.37 – far worse than analysts had been expecting at the time.
The company said database license revenue increased 14% in the quarter and attributed the improved performance to the restructuring at the end of last year which saw 400 jobs go and the company organized into separate divisions. As a result of those moves and improved cost control, operating expenses were cut by $20.8m from the fourth quarter. The transition isn’t exactly complete, though as the negligible revenue growth fell below analysts’ expectations. Sales of development tools also slipped about 16% to $25.7m. Overall license revenue totaled $98.3m, while services brought in $110m. Sybase ended the quarter with $297m in cash and short-term investments, up 19% from $249m in the fourth quarter.
