Caldera reports loss, reverse stock split

Caldera International, one of the few publicly traded Linux companies, reported a loss of $11 million on revenue of $17.9 million for its fiscal first quarter of 2002, which ended Jan. 31.

Orem., Utah-based Caldera, which sells a version of Linux and two versions of Unix, also said it expects shareholders to approve a 1-for-4 reverse stock split. Such moves are typically undertaken to prevent delisting from regulated stock markets. Caldera warned in September that its low stock price threatened the company with delisting from the Nasdaq market.

Caldera competes with Linux sellers such as Red Hat, and with server companies such as Sun Microsystems with their own versions of Unix.

Caldera acquired its versions of Unix in 2001 from Tarentella, formerly called the Santa Cruz Operation. However, Caldera didn't get as much benefit as it hoped from the better-established Unix customers. The company had to write down $74 million of goodwill and intangible assets related to the acquisition as a result.

Though profitability hasn't arrived, the addition of the Unix business significantly lifted Caldera's revenue, which was $1 million in the year-ago quarter. The company also sells management software.

Caldera had a restructuring charge of $5.3 million in the quarter. Excluding the charge, the company's net loss for the quarter would have been $5.7 million, or 10 cents per share.

Estimates for Caldera earnings were unavailable from First Call because analysts surveyed by the tracking firm didn't cover the company. Caldera, however, said its results were in-line with its previous guidance.

The company predicted that the quarter ending April 30 will have net revenue of $16 million to $18 million, with gross margins staying level at about 58 percent. Operating costs are expected to decline 3 percent to 5 percent.

For the full fiscal year, ending Oct. 31, the company expects revenue of $68 million to $72 million.