Siebel Beats Estimates but Says What It Sees Ahead Isn't Pretty

Updated from 5 p.m.

You can exhale now. Siebel Systems (SEBL Quote) managed to squeak by. But the road ahead looks very rocky.

The customer relationship software company, which was one of the few big technology firms not to warn about lower-than-expected quarterly numbers, earned 15 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31, a penny better than analysts were expecting, according to Multex.com. On a revenue basis, Siebel comfortably beat expectations, with sales of $588.7 million, compared with the $558.1 million the Street was looking for.

A year ago, the company earned 7 cents per share on revenue of $319.7 million. ...