E.piphany Reports Narrower LossesE.piphany Reports Narrower Losses

CRM vendor E.piphany Inc. on Thursday reported a net loss for the fourth quarter and the year as a whole, but the company's fortunes seem to be improving despite the troubling numbers.

For the fourth quarter, ending Dec. 31, E.piphany posted a net loss of $14.8 million, or 20 cents per share. That's a significant improvement from a loss of $36.8 million, or 53 cents per share, in the same quarter of 2001.

Revenue for the quarter was $22.5 million, down from $28.4 million a year earlier. Service revenue accounted for the company's largest source of income, drawing $13.2 million, up from $12.2 million in the year-ago quarter. But product license revenue fell in the same period, dropping to $9.3 million from $16.2 million.

Despite the losses, Pacific Growth Equities analyst Patrick Mason says the quarter was a strong one, with good customer growth and the completion of critical big deals. In a statement, E.piphany said it added 14 new customers in the quarter, including British Gas, eBay, and Hoffman LaRoche.

Despite those deals, Mason says it will still be some time before E.piphany can climb out of the red. "They need to do $37 million in revenues to get to the break-even point," he says.

For 2002 as a whole, the company posted a net loss of $71.7 million, or $1 per share. That's vastly improved from 2001, when a $2.5 billion charge caused the company to post a net loss of $2.6 billion, or $38.25 per share. Excluding that charge, the company lost $67.7 million in 2001, or 99 cents a share.