For the first quarter, revenues were $74.7 million, compared to $75.0 million in the first quarter of 2000, and $102.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2000. The company’s 2000 results have been restated to reflect the April 6, 2000 acquisition of Noah Holdings and the August 18, 2000 acquisition of Sekidenko, Inc., using the pooling of interests method of accounting.
Our financial performance in the first quarter was in line with our revised expectations, reflecting the continuing softness in industry demand patterns, said Doug Schatz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. In order to continue to meet our operating goals in light of this difficult environment, we have taken several cost containment initiatives including ten percent salary reductions for senior management, substantial reductions in travel, cutbacks in other discretionary spending and two shutdown weeks during the second quarter. The continuing deterioration in all of the industries we serve has caused us to implement a ten percent reduction in force or 75 full time continuous and 89 temporary employees. We are providing severance packages and job placement services to the employees affected by this industry related action.
Net income for the 2001 first quarter was $5.1 million, or $0.16 per diluted share. Gross margin was 42 percent in the first quarter, down from 49 percent in the comparable quarter in 2000 and in line with our expectations. This compares to net income of $11.2 million or $0.35 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2000, and net income of $19.8 million, excluding the extraordinary item, or $0.61 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2000.
We continue to have limited visibility for the year 2001. Based on current demand forecasts for the second quarter, we anticipate revenue in the $60 million to $65 million range and earnings per share in the $0.05 to $0.07 range. We expect gross margin to be in the range of 38 percent to 41 percent. The reduced revenue level will continue to create pressure on our operating margins. We expect the cost containment actions implemented late in the first quarter to have a greater impact during the second quarter, in addition to the additional cost reduction measures taken in this current quarter.
We remain committed to our ongoing product development efforts through continued investments in engineering, strengthening our alliances with customers and furthering the integration of our new subsidiaries. We have gained market share in prior industry downturns, and we are well-positioned to continue to extend our technology lead throughout this cycle, said Mr. Schatz.
