Lawson Software Reports Fiscal 1st-qtr Profit

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Lawson Software Inc. said Wednesday it earned a profit in its fiscal first quarter, as lower revenue was offset by a drop in expenses.

Shares of the software company, which also said it would cut 75 jobs, rose 51 cents, or 8 percent, to $6.75 in after-hours trading. The stock had finished regular trading at $6.24.

For the quarter that ended Aug. 31, Lawson earned $6 million, or 4 cents per share, compared with a loss of $3.7 million, or 2 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. When excluding one-time items, the company earned 9 cents per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude special items from their estimates, expected a profit of 5 cents per share.

Revenue fell nearly 12 percent to $169 million, with software revenue rising 1 percent to $111.4 million and consulting revenue falling 29 percent to $57.6 million. It beat analyst expectations for $161.9 million.

Operating expenses also declined, however, falling 14 percent to $77.7 million due mainly to a drop in sales and marketing expenses.