Two of Ireland’s leading tech companies have recorded losses for the fourth quarter of 2002.
Software provider, Iona Technologies recorded a quarterly net loss of US$308m or US$9.38 per share. For the full year the company had a net loss of US$369.3 or US$11.58 per share.
Revenue for the quarter stood at US$30.9m and US$123.2m for the year as a whole.
An upbeat Barry Morris, the company’s chief executive officer said: “Iona reported 33pc sequential licence growth in Q4, evidence of the continuing demand for our current product offerings. Our next-generation Web Services Integration products are expected to ship in Q1 and I am optimistic about their potential in 2003 and beyond.”
Meanwhile, chip designer ParthusCeva has announced disappointing fourth quarter losses of US$24.4m – losses that are broadly in line with preliminary results two weeks ago.
The company is attributing the losses to costs incurred from the merger between the Dublin-based Parthus and Silicon Valley-based Ceva Inc on l November.
In a statement the company says the loss was due to: “a restructuring charge of US$6.4m; a one-time no-cash charge for in-process research and development arising as a result of the combination of ParthusCeva and Parthus of US$226,000 and foreign exchange losses of US$484,000 arising principally on euro liabilities as a result of the appreciation of the euro against the US dollar.
Total revenues for the quarter stand at US$5.7m.
The company recorded a net loss for the year as a whole of US$21.9m and total revenue for the year of US$19.2m.
When the preliminary results were published the company’s CEO Kevin Fielding said that a persistent downturn and challenging market conditions had caused delays in licensing decisions on several significant deals, although he said the company’s overall sales pipeline remained intact.
By Suzanne Byrne
