Novell Reports 83% Decline in Earnings, but Still Beats Estimates

Novell(NOVL Quote) on Wednesday reported that its quarterly earnings were down nearly 83% on weaker overall sales, but the results still remained above Wall Street estimates.

The Provo, Utah-based software maker posted fiscal third-quarter earnings of $8.57 million, or 3 cents a diluted shares. That's down from its net income of $49.31 million, or 14 cents a share, reported in the comparable quarter of 1999. Revenue fell 17%, to $270 million, in the fiscal quarter, ending July 31, from $327 million a year earlier.

Though the company's quarterly earnings beat the consensus estimate among analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial by a penny per share, investors paid more attention to the year-over-year drop in revenue and earnings. ...