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Autonomy to beat target
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July 10, 2001: 3:53 a.m. ET
UK software maker to "slightly" beat forecasts, in wake of tech fallout
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LONDON (CNN) - Autonomy, which makes software to manage data on the Net, expects to post second-quarter profits "slightly" ahead of analyst expectations.
The company, based in San Francisco and Cambridge, England, said on Tuesday earnings per share will come in at between 1 U.S. cent and 2 U.S. cents for the quarter ended June 30.
Analysts on average had expected earnings per share of 1 cent, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
Sales for the quarter would be between $14 million and $15 million, compared with revenues of $14.7 million in the first quarter.
"Despite difficult conditions in the global markets our highly flexible business model has ensured yet another profitable quarter underpinned by the considerable strength of our balance sheet," Autonomy founder and Chief Executive Mike Lynch said.
Shares in Autonomy (AUTN) rose 4.7 percent to 400 pence in early London trading. Autonomy had been valued at £5.2 billion ($7.4 billion) at its peak in October last year. At its current price the company is valued at close to £500 million.
The company halved in value on April 6 after it became the second European software company to issue a revenue warning, saying a slowdown in U.S. demand had now spread to Europe.
Autonomy (AUTN: Research, Estimates) said many contracts that had been deferred in the first-quarter had now been signed, however, "it is clear that the IT (Information technology) sector continues to be affected by IT spending patterns and macro-economic issues."
Autonomy decided to issue a trading update for shareholders after more than 80 U.S. companies issued profit warnings last week, including many high-profile tech firms such as chip maker Advanced Micro (AMD: Research, Estimates) and software company BMC (BMC: Research, Estimates).
UK phone equipment maker Marconi also told investors last week it would miss forecast earning targets, sending its stock plunging more than 50 percent and dragging European tech stocks into a spin.
Autonomy makes software which understands context in unstructured human text and speech – helping corporations sift through mountains of information. Its is designed to be an integral part of the software needed to drive Internet portals.
The company will report actual results on July 26, it said. 
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