Rohit
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Netscape earnings soar five-fold
By Nick Wingfield and Mike Ricciuti
July 18, 1996, 4:15 p.m. PST
Bouyed by strong sales of its browser and server software, _Netscape
Communications_ reported today that the 2-year-old company more than
quintupled its revenues from the same quarter last year.
Analysts are also predicting that Netscape's chief rival, _Microsoft_, will
meet expectations when it follows with its own earnings report Monday. If that
holds true, the dual reports combined with Wednesday's strong financial
figures from _Intel_ will provide at least some relieve to an otherwise dismal
quarter for high-tech companies.
Today, Netscape posted revenues of $75 million for the quarter ending June
30, a significant increase over the $14.1 million of the correspondent quarter
last year. However, improvements in net income were less impressive, rising
from a loss of $2.79 million, or 4 cents per share, to $906,000, or 1 cent per
share. This quarter's net income report reflects $6.1 million in
merger-related expenses, including the acquisitions of Paper Software, InSoft,
and NetCode.
Although the company announced earnings after close of market, Netscape's
stock shot up 4-1/2 points to close at 56-1/2.