Ariba reports fiscal 4Q profit, beating estimates

Ariba posts 4th-quarter profit against year-earlier loss that was hampered by a charge

• On 1:48 pm EDT, Wednesday October 28, 2009

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (AP) -- Ariba Inc. reported a fiscal fourth-quarter profit Wednesday against a year-earlier loss that included a charge.

For the quarter that ended Sept. 30, Ariba earned $5.6 million, or 6 cents per share, compared with a loss of $6.1 million, or 8 cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter.

In last year's fiscal fourth quarter, Ariba logged a $6.3 million amortization charge that led to a quarterly loss.

When excluding one-time items, the company earned 18 cents per share in the more recent quarter.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who generally exclude one-time items from their estimates, expected a profit of 17 cents per share.

Revenue dipped 1 percent to $84.3 million from $85.5 million last year. Analysts expected $83.2 million.

Subscription and maintenance revenue, which makes up the bulk of Ariba's revenue, rose 13 percent to $57.9 million. Services and other revenue sank 23 percent to $26.5 million.

For the full fiscal year, Ariba earned $8.2 million, or 10 cents per share, compared with a loss of $41.1 million, or 53 cents per share, in fiscal 2008.

Fiscal 2009 revenue totaled $339 million, up 3.3 percent from $328.1 million last year.

Ariba shares fell 41 cents to $11.90 in afternoon trading.

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