Tempe, AZ October 18, 2002 When technology titan IBM reported on Wednesday that its third quarter net earnings were lower than the same period of last year, but still higher than financial analysts had expected, the news set the stage for the U.S. stock markets to rebound on Thursday amidst signs of some relief in the embattled tech sector.
IBM's announcement also set the stage for a series of quarterly reports from other software giants. Here's a wrap-up of third quarter results for some of the major players in the supply chain space:
Smaller Loss for i2
Supply chain solution provider i2 saw a loss of $199 million in the third quarter, a significant improvement over the $5.5 billion loss the company posted in the same period last year, when the company took a $4.7 billion charge related to acquisitions.
The Dallas-based company brought in total revenues of $115 million for the quarter, down from $201 million for the same period of last year.
i2 said its total assets at the end of the quarter came to $722 million, including $419 million in cash and cash equivalents and $65 million in short-term investments.
Profits for PeopleSoft
Enterprise software provider PeopleSoft reported profits of $44.6 million for the third quarter, compared to $50.3 million in the same period last year, a drop of 11 percent.
The Pleasanton, Calif.-based company posted revenues of $471 million in the past quarter, against $521 million for the same period last year.
The company said its cash and investment balances came in at $1.8 billion as of the end of the quarter.
SAP Shows Strength
Enterprise resource planning giant SAP this week reported profits of $198 million for the third quarter, five-and-a-half times the $36 million profit for the same period last year.
The Walldorf, Germany-based software company saw third quarter revenues of $1.65 billion, against $1.6 billion in the year-ago period.
The company showed a 19 percent year-on-year increase in revenues from its customer relationship management (CRM) software, rising to $90.5 million in the past quarter from $75.9 million for same period in 2001. But sales of its supply chain management software fell from $95.4 million to $92.5 million during the same time.
Charge Hits Siebel
CRM specialist Siebel Systems reported a net loss of $92.1 million for the third quarter, compared to a profit of $35.2 million for the same period last year.
The San Mateo, Calif.-based software company saw third quarter revenues of $357.2 million, compared to $437.9 million for the same period in 2001, a decline of 18 percent.
The company's net loss for the quarter included $164 million in special charges related to layoffs and restructuring and to a stock option swap program for employees. Without those charges, the company posted a net profit of $13.1 million, compared to $35.2 million for the same period last year.
Siebel remains flush: it reported reserves totaling $2.1 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of the end of the quarter.
On Deck
The e-procurement space checks in next week, with reports from spend management impresario Ariba and Web-services-focused Commerce One due out on Wednesday, October 23.
