Sybase Posts Profit, But Cautious In 2002 OutlookSybase Posts Profit, But Cautious In 2002 Outlook

Database and infrastructure software vendor Sybase Inc. reported a slight increase in quarter-to-quarter sales for its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31. Sales reached $236.3 million, down 9.3% from $260.5 million in the same period a year ago, but up more than 4% from $226.3 million in the third quarter.

However, CEO John Chen remains cautious about the outlook for 2002. "A lot of people see a lot of robustness coming back. But I don't see it," he says. Chen is conservatively predicting 5% revenue growth for Sybase this year, with sales of application-integration, portal, and wireless technology leading the way.

Sybase reported net income of $6.1 million, or 6 cents per share, for the quarter. That compares with net income of $35.5 million , or 39 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. But the quarter was an improvement from the third quarter when the vendor reported a net loss of $7.1 million, or 7 cents per share.

License revenue, a key indicator of future growth, also improved in the fourth quarter from the third quarter, rising 16% to $104.9 million from $90.6 million. For all of 2001, Sybase reported a loss of $25.5 million on sales of $926.1 million, compared with net income of $72.1 million on sales of $960.5 million in 2000.