Data Integration Needs Drive Ascential's 4Q SalesData Integration Needs Drive Ascential's 4Q Sales

Ascential Software Corp. Thursday reported a 21% sales increase in its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, fueled by demand for its data-integration software for performance management, regulatory compliance, and real-time analytical applications.

For the quarter, Ascential reported revenue of $78.2 million, compared with $64.5 million in the same period one year earlier. License revenue increased 12% to $33.5 million during the quarter.

But net income was $9.0 million or 15 cents per share, down from $17.3 million or 28 cents per share one year ago. The year-ago numbers included a one-time tax benefit of $16.5 million while the just-completed quarter included a one-time tax benefit of only $2.4 million. Minus one-time gains and charges, Ascential's net income was up 48% to $8.3 million or 14 cents per share.

President Pete Fiore says data integration is critical for a range of strategic initiatives among its customers, including business-performance management, data warehousing, real-time and operational business-intelligence, compliance with regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, master data management, and application consolidation.

"That requires a very broad set of product capabilities. So we're benefiting because we're the only vendor out there with a product suite with all those capabilities," Fiore says.

Ascential's sales and services expenses increased during the fourth quarter as the company built up its sales and support staffs. But that investment apparently paid off as the vendor added 79 new customers to its customer base during the quarter, including Acxiom, Amazon.com, ChevronTexaco, Pfizer, 7-Eleven, Sony Pictures, and Starbucks. Forty percent of Ascential's license revenue came from new customers, Fiore says.

For the current quarter, Ascential expects revenue in the range of $72 million to $74 million, compared with $61.4 million in revenue in last year's first quarter. License revenue is anticipated to be in the range of $29 million to $30 million, compared with $24.6 million one year ago.

For all of 2005, the company expects revenue in the range of $300 million to $315 million, up 10% to 15% from 2004. License revenue also is expected to increase 10% to 15% during the year.