MIAMI - The list of enterprise software companies warning they will miss financial goals got longer on Thursday, when Computer Associates International Inc. (CA) lowered its revenue expectations for the first quarter of its 2005 fiscal year.
CA now expects to generate between $830 million and $850 million in the quarter, which ended on June 30. Its previous forecast was for between $865 million to $885 million.
CA, which plans to report final results for the quarter on July 22, blamed the expected revenue shortfall on several issues, including a weak performance by its services unit and lower subscription revenue.
However, CA reiterated its prior profit forecast of between $0.05 and $0.07 earnings per share, thanks to "excellent expense controls," the company said in a statement. It also said it stands by its forecast of between $0.17 and $0.19 for operating earnings per share, which excludes certain charges.
The lowered guidance didn't completely dampen the spirits of Jeff Clarke, the company's chief operating officer, who is quoted in the statement as saying that, "considering the current industry dynamics" he feels "satisfied with our performance."
On Wednesday, enterprise software vendors Siebel Systems Inc., PeopleSoft Inc. and BMC Software Inc. separately announced they would miss previously stated revenue goals, one day after Veritas Software Corp. issued a similar warning.
In addition to sagging revenue, CA has other problems. In April, it admitted prematurely booking $2.2 billion in revenue over a period of nearly two years in a scheme meant to artificially inflate quarterly financial results. Four former finance department employees have pleaded guilty to charges of securities fraud and obstruction of justice, and the scandal prompted Sanjay Kumar to step down as CA's chief executive officer in April to become its chief software architect, and eventually to resign from the company altogether in June.
As a result of the accounting scandal, CA restated results from its 2000 and 2001 fiscal years, and the company and some former executives are being investigated by the government.
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