Sybase Inc chose to take a hit of $51.6m against first quarter earnings, but the process of ‘guidance’ – where the company advises Wall Street brokerages where its numbers are likely to come in at – looks to have come unhinged. Analysts’ average expectations, as reported by First Call, was a loss of $0.11 before charges; whereas Sybase’s actual loss of $29.6m before charges was the equivalent of a $0.37 loss in net per share. Revenue in the period declined 10.9% to $206.81m from $232.2m, while net income including a charge of $51.6m for restructuring was $81.19m up from a loss of $6.16m last time, a figure adjusted in the light of financial irregularities discovered at its Japanese operation. Sybase will record an additional $20m restructuring charge sometime in the next three quarters. It has $193.1m in cash.
