Siebel Posts A Loss, CEO Returns OptionsSiebel Posts A Loss, CEO Returns Options

Siebel Systems Inc. posted a net loss for fiscal-year 2002, the result of drastically lower software sales.

In a conference call, CEO Tom Siebel pointed out that software sales were up 24% from the third quarter and posited that the environment for enterprise applications was slowly improving. "It's getting a little bit better everywhere," he said.

The company posted a net loss of $35.7 million, or 8 cents per share, down from a profit of $254.6 million, or 56 cents, in 2001. Revenue sank to $1.6 billion from $2.1 billion in 2001.

For the fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31, Siebel posted a net loss of $38 million, or 8 cents, down from a profit of $65.9 million, or 14 cents per share, in the same quarter of 2001. Revenue for the quarter was $394.7 million, down from $487.8 million year over year. Software license revenue accounted for $157.4 million of that total, sinking 37% from $250.2 million in 2001.

In a separate announcement, CEO Siebel voluntarily canceled all of the stock options he received since 1998, about 26 million shares, in what he said was an effort to avoid earnings dilution for stockholders. The return lowers Siebel's stake in the company from 13.5% to 10.7%. Shares of the company's stock closed up 3.8%, to $8.39, Tuesday, in advance of the earnings announcement.