Provided the next three quarters match the same performance as the most recent Q4 quarter it reported last night, Siebel boss Tom Siebel said he would feel sure that the tech recovery would be well and truly under way.
“If we see in the first, second and third quarters of 2004 an environment like Q4, then we will reach the conclusion that the IT economy has returned to health,” said Tom Siebel, announcing the companies most recent results.
Business software giant Siebel, which employs around 60 people in Galway, reported net income of US$41.5m, or 8 cents a share. Siebel had lost US$38m, or 8 cents a share, in the same quarter a year earlier.
In a recent announcement of better-than-expected results, Siebel’s management had estimated earnings of 5 to 6 cents a share, based on sales of US$335m to $355m, and license revenue of US$120m to US$140m.
Total revenue dropped to US$366.7m from US$394.7m in the same period last year. Software license revenue was US$150.3m. Revenue from maintenance, consulting, and other services was US$216.5m.
Siebel reported 42 deals of US$1m or more, compared to 19 in the same period last year. The company had five deals worth US$5m or more, up from three deals of that size last year.
The company said that in the first quarter, it expects earnings in the range of 4 to 5 cents a share, based on sales of US$315m to US$335m.
By John Kennedy
