In a converging sector containing some of the most aggressive predators in the IT world, the company’s outlook is certain to attract interest from competitors as the company’s market value of $227.7m is barely equal to one year’s sales.
The Carpinteria, California-based company gave no explanation for the warning. It simply said that lower-than-expected license and services revenue in the first quarter affected total revenue and earnings. In addition, earnings were hit by a one-time charge of $0.02 per share for closure of facilities.
QAD said first-quarter revenue will be in the range of $55m to $56m, compared with its previous forecast of a range of $57m to $60m. This will have a big impact on the bottom line with earnings per share now predicted to be in the range of $0.06 to $0.07, well down on its original forecast of $0.12 to $0.16m.
For the full year, QAD anticipates revenue of between $227m and $240m, while it was originally hoping for a figure in the $235m to $250m range. This will give it earnings per share of $0.40 to $0.55, instead of $0.50 to $0.70.
