While other companies are reporting losses for their most recent financial quarters, beleaguered software publisher Corel Corp. is reporting a modest net profit for its first quarter, which ended February 28. Revenues are down year-over-year, but for Corel, the news is still good. The company also has a sanguine outlook for its future 2001 earnings, partly due to enthusiasm for Mac OS X.
Revenues for the first quarter were US$32.5 million, compared with $44.1 million for the same quarter last year. Net profit for the quarter was $534,000, which certainly looks better than the $12.4 million loss that Corel reported for the first quarter of 2000. Corel had $124.4 million in cash at the end of the quarter.
Corel CFO John Blaine said that the numbers are in line with the company’s expectations. “We are managing the business for long-term, sustainable growth. Our goal is to ensure that the company has an exciting and prosperous future characterized by steady, predictable performance,” said Blaine.
Corel president and CEO Derek Burney is pleased with the company’s efforts to get back on solid financial ground. “I’m particularly proud of the fierce commitment that our employees have demonstrated in supporting our new strategic direction. Our early profit is, in part, a testament to how quickly and enthusiastically they have embraced the challenge of turning this company around,” said Burney.
Burney suggested that the Mac would play a prominent role in Corel’s product plan for 2001, following WordPerfect Office 2002’s launch, expected this spring.
“[WordPerfect Office 2002’s launch] will be followed in the summer with a full line of new creative products simultaneously released on both the Windows and Macintosh platforms. With exciting new technologies such as Mac OS X, Windows XP, .NET, HailStorm and others, we believe that customers have plenty to look forward to in the realm of personal desktop computing.”
Among the company’s highlights for this past quarter, Corel cited its release of Bryce 4.1 and Corel KnockOut 1.5.1 for the public beta release of Mac OS X. “This further demonstrates the company’s commitment to the Macintosh platform by giving users a chance to try these professional products with the beta version of Mac OS X,” said Corel.