Tough market conditions caused Agile Software Corp.'s revenue and profit to slip in the third fiscal quarter ending Jan. 31.The San Jose software maker reported that revenue was $18 million, down 28% from $25 million in the comparable year-ago quarter.
Agile posted a net loss, which include all charges and credits associated with stock compensation, amortization of goodwill and purchased intangible assets, and payroll taxes on stock option exercises, of $6.3 million, or 13 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $12.6 million, or 27 cents per share, for the same period last year.
During the quarter, the company, which makes software tools that address engineering change orders and product life cycle management, signed deals with 25 new customers in the medical device, personal computer, industrial, communications, and product design industry sectors.
Within the high-tech sector, Agile's largest market, Manufacturers' Services Ltd, Philips Contract Manufacturing Services and Qlogic Corp. joined the customer list.
Although customer activity improved late in the quarter and there are signs that high-tech IT spending is recovering, analysts were still guarded in their outlook.
"[The third quarter] was in every way a disappointment, demonstrating the prolonged difficulty in high-tech IT spending, as we feared after last quarter," according to a report released today from U.S. Bancorp. Piper Jaffray. "The reality is that the company continues to depend heavily on the weak high-tech sector and increasingly on large deals."
News source: EBN - Agile Software has 28% year-to-year revenue drop
