Novell Posts 3Q Loss Amid Job CutsNovell Posts 3Q Loss Amid Job Cuts

Novell swung from a third-quarter profit a year ago to a loss and said it has cut 10% of its workforce.

For its third quarter ended July 31, Novell on Thursday reported a net loss of $12.4 million, or 3 cents per share. In the year-ago quarter, the company had net income of $9.9 million, or 3 cents per share.

Revenue inched up to $282.8 million, from $282.3 million a year ago. But software license sales, a key indicator of future growth, fell almost 17%, to $69.3 million.

Novell said it eliminated about 600 jobs during the quarter and now has about 5,700 employees. The layoffs are a key part in the company's plan to lower annual operating expenses by about $100 million. The company said in a statement that the full benefit of the reductions is expected to be realized in the first quarter of fiscal 2004.