Lawson Software Sees Profit At Or Below Estimates

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Lawson Software Inc., hurt by weaker spending on software by manufacturing customers, is targeting profit and sales in the current quarter at or below Wall Street expectations.

The company, which makes software for manufacturers and other businesses, said Thursday it expects adjusted profit of 8 cents to 10 cents per share for the fiscal fourth quarter ending May 31. Including one-time items, earnings are expected to range between 4 cents and 7 cents per share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected 10 cents per share. Analysts typically exclude special items from their forecasts.

Lawson also forecast revenue between $175 million and $182 million, below Wall Street's $197.2 million projections.

The company on Thursday said it earned $7.4 million, or 4 cents per share, in the quarter ended Feb. 28, compared with $727,000, or less than a penny per share, a year earlier. But revenue fell 18 percent to $173.8 million.

Lawson shares rose 32 cents, or 7.3 percent, to close at $4.68 in regular trading before the company issued the earnings outlook.