Oracle's ongoing hostile attempt to acquire PeopleSoft has played an unexpected role in Sybase's successful second quarter. The company beat analyst estimates with its second-quarter 2003 revenues of $192 million, whereas First Call consensus revenue estimates had set expectations at $186.5 million.
Net income on a pro forma basis for the second quarter was $23.2 million, or earnings per share of $0.24 on a diluted basis (EPS), exceeding First Call consensus EPS estimates of $0.21. Pro forma net income was $25.9 million, or EPS of $0.26, for the same period in 2002.
PeopleSoft is an application partner of Sybase, and concerned customers are choosing to deploy PeopleSoft on the Sybase rather than Oracle database, says Sybase South Africa MD Alan Cowley.
"Customers considering PeopleSoft applications are starting to be concerned about running on Oracle," Cowley says. "Sybase has been consistent in its view that the hostile bid by Oracle is bad for the industry, and some PeopleSoft customers clearly agree with this view.
"Sybase continues to generate strong revenues, despite the state of the market," Cowley adds. "An increasing number of customers are exploring new IT projects and initiatives involving Sybase, which gives the company good reason to be optimistic. We're particularly excited about the strength in our mobile and wireless business and our new WiFi initiatives."
Net income for the second quarter calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) was $14.6 million, or EPS of $0.15. Net income on a GAAP basis was $20.2 million, or EPS of $0.20, for the same period in 2002.
For the period ended 30 June, Sybase reported $467.1 million in cash and cash investments. This is the highest cash balance in the company's history. During the second quarter, Sybase:
* Launched a WiFi application development initiative and announced a $25 million initiative to accelerate WiFi enterprise application development, helping businesses to capitalise on the opportunities of mobile computing.
* Announced the Sybase WiFi Professional Services practice to help enterprises define and implement strategies to leverage the latest developments in mobile computing for competitive advantage.
* Launched the Remote Enterprise Management Outsourcing (REMO) service offering, a subscription-based service to keep business-critical systems and applications available 24x7 and decrease operational costs.
* Announced that its Enterprise Portal had been selected by the Department of Defence (DOD) Standard Procurement System (SPS) Joint Program Management Office (JPMO) to run its online Centre of Excellence.
* Announced the general availability of Adaptive Server IQ 12.5, a highly scalable analytical engine featuring greater ease of use, enhanced support, lower overall total cost of ownership, and easier integration and interoperability.
During the quarter, iAnywhere Solutions, a subsidiary of Sybase:
* Announced the general availability of SQL Anywhere Studio 9, the industry's leading mobile database featuring Mac support, enhanced Web services and .NET functionality, and an index consultant designed to significantly speed development time.
* Announced a strategic relationship with Intel to fuel the development of always-available mobile enterprise applications that extend enterprise information to mobile workers regardless of network availability.
* Announced the beta release of SQL Anywhere Studio 9 for Mac OS X, delivering the market-leading database for mobile, embedded and small to medium-sized business environments to the Machine.
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