Onyx's Earnings Aren't Gem QualityOnyx's Earnings Aren't Gem Quality

Onyx Software Corp., a provider of customer-relationship management software, saw its revenues slip in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31.

Revenue slid to $19.2 million in the quarter, compared with $35.7 million in the same quarter of 2000. Like Siebel Systems Inc. and other CRM vendors, the bulk of Onyx's revenue come from services rather than new license fees. Six-and-a-half million dollars of fourth-quarter revenue resulted from license sales, while $12.6 million came from services. In the fourth quarter of last year, license revenue was $22.3 million, and revenue from services was $13.4 million. Onyx saw a net loss of $10.1 million, or 23 cents a share, including restructuring charges, compared with a loss of $2.8 million, or 8 cents a share. The company laid off 160 employees in the quarter.

The company said it's just months away from releasing Onyx 4.0, the next major upgrade of its CRM suite. The suite will include a "heavy dose of features" and will be optimized for Oracle, Unix, SQL, and Windows databases, according to company statements. In addition, Onyx will release two new renditions of its Onyx Partner Portal, partner-relationship management application in the coming year.

The company's stock was down 48 cents to $3.78 before its earnings announcement.