Progress is slow at VeriSign Inc, the Mountain View, California- based digital certificate software company, which released its second quarter results yesterday. The company, which offers products services such as public key infrastructure (PKI) and digital certificate systems, is branching out into services for virtual private networks. Its second quarter losses increased against last year, but came in slightly ahead of the previous quarter. Revenues rose 136% year on year to $5.3m and 32% over the previous quarter. Net losses were $4.9m, or 23 cents per share, up from $3.6m, or 56 cents per share a year ago. The company says it has now issued 65,000 web site certificates to a range of merchants, financial services companies and other firms conducting business over the web and it also expanded its existing relationships with Microsoft Corp and IBM Corp’s Lotus division. It also has 120 enterprises, universities and government agencies using its OnSite digital certificate system that enables organizations to set up as certificate authorities. After the end of the quarter VeriSign announced the acquisition of SecureIT in a $69m stock deal – a company that provides internet security services, including architectural consulting, integration, testing and education to enable the secure deployment of electronic commerce and communications applications. VeriSign lost $10.1m in the six months, up from $7.2m in 1997, on revenues that rose 165% to $9.3m.
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