Ariba And Commerce One Remain In DoldrumsAriba And Commerce One Remain In Doldrums

Ariba Inc. and Commerce One Inc. reported losses for their most recent quarters, though both companies say they'll benefit from an expected upturn in the software market. Ariba (ARBA--Nasdaq) cut its net loss for the first quarter ended Dec. 31 to $161.3 million, compared with $347.6 million a year ago. Revenue declined 68% to $55.3 million. CEO Bob Calderoni expects Ariba to break even in the third quarter. Commerce One (CMRC--Nasdaq) reported a fourth-quarter loss of $168.3 million on sales of $56 million. Last year, the company lost $197.5 million on sales of $170.2 million. Both vendors have shifted to selling supply-chain applications that they say offer customers a faster return on their IT investments than public exchange software. Market researchers expect IT spending to increase by a few percentage points this year.