Business software developer Novell Inc. said Thursday it swung to a loss in its fiscal fourth quarter, partly due to the sale of a consulting division.
For the quarter ended Oct. 31, the company reported a loss of $17.9 million, or 5 cents per share, compared to a profit of $19.9 million, or 5 cents per share, in the prior-year quarter.
The company said the recent quarter's results included a loss of 3 cents per share from its Switzerland-based business consulting division, which it agreed to sell during the quarter.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 4 cents per share. Analyst estimates typically exclude one-time items.
Revenue rose 5 percent to $244.9 million from $233.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2006. Analysts predicted revenue of $242.2 million. Novell's latest quarter excludes $6 million in revenue from discontinued operations that analysts included in their estimates, according to a company spokesman.
The company said its revenue growth was led by a 69 percent boost in revenue in its open platform solutions division. Most of that revenue came from Linux platform products, the company said.
For the year, the company swung to a loss of $44.5 million, or 13 cents per share, from a profit of $18.7 million, or 5 cents per share, in the prior year.
Revenue climbed 1 percent to $932.5 million from $919.3 million.
The company said for 2008, it expects revenue between $920 million and $945 million. Thirteen analysts expect revenue of $982.2 million for the year, on average, with estimates ranging from $947.6 million to $1.02 billion. Novell's forecast excludes $46 million in revenue from discontinued operations that analysts have included in their estimates, the Novell spokesman said.
Shares fell 80 cents, or 11 percent, to $6.30 in electronic after-hours trading. During regular trading, the shares fell a penny to close at $7.10. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $5.76 to $8.26.
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