Application development tools operation, Progress Software Corp is attributing its year end loss to the charge incurred relating to its purchase of Apptivity Corp (CI No 3,194). Bedford, Massachusetts-based Progress reported a loss of $1.6m for the twelve months to November 30, but argues that its results have been damaged by a non recurring charge of $11.5m relating to the buy of Apptivity for its Java database tools. The company also suffered in the fourth quarter as a result of the strength of the dollar in 1997, but says its now in a good position for the following year. The year ahead will see the initiating of a strategy for developing and deploying new applications, providing it with an opening to migrate existing applications to standards- based architectures, it says.