Richmond, CA February 19, 2003 QRS, a provider of collaborative commerce solutions to the retail industry, this week reported a second straight profitable quarter, continuing the company's climb out of the red.
For the fourth quarter ended December 31, the company reported net income of $962,000, up from the net income of $600,000 reported for the third quarter of 2002. For the fourth quarter of 2001, the company recorded a loss of $141 million, including charges of nearly $129 million relating to a restructuring announced in December 2001.
Revenues in the fourth quarter of 2002 came in at $32.0 million, down slightly from the $33.5 million recorded during the third quarter, and also down from the $34.6 million in revenues for the fourth quarter of 2001.
For all of 2002, the company reported a net loss of $4.1 million on revenues of $136 million, compared to a net loss of $173.3 million on revenues of $143.1 million for 2001. Results for 2001 included $145 million in restructuring charges.
Liz Fetter, president and CEO of QRS, hailed the latest results as a sign that the company had turned the corner. "We delivered these results despite the challenging economy, and now QRS is ready to capitalize on the opportunities we see in the marketplace," she said in a company statement.
QRS reported that its operating expenses were down for the fourth quarter and for 2002 as a whole, while gross margins and days sales outstanding were up for both periods. The company said it had $39.6 in cash and marketable securities at the end of last year.
The company reported that it had secured more than 75 wins and agreement extensions in the fourth quarter of 2002 with retailers and suppliers across multiple retail verticals, including L'Oreal USA, Duane Reade, The Kroger Co., OskKosh B'Gosh, Ingram Micro, StrideRite Corp., Lego Systems and Huffy Bicycle Co.
Last October QRS upgraded its trading community management services with the launch of QRS Compliance Link, a Web-based solution designed to automate and expedite the process of building a trading community within the retail supply chain.
More recently, the company launched a collaborative exceptions management offering, QRS Insight, at the National Retail Federation trade show last month. (See related story.)
