E-commerce application provider BroadVision Inc. was trying hard to smile
through some tears Tuesday, announcing an OEM deal with IBM after revising
its guidance downward on Monday and restating some of its results for 2001
because of accounting problems.
The market, of course, saw through the PR antics and punished the stock,
sending it down 18 percent in the opening few minutes, falling 31 cents to $1.41.
The Redwood City, Calif.-based company said after
Monday’s closing bell that it expects revenue for the first quarter of 2002
to range between $29 million and $32 million. Analysts had been expecting
something in the $36 million range.
But even worse, at least from an accounting reliability standpoint, was the
news that the company was restating financial results for the third quarter
and revising results for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2001.
BroadVision said that “revenue related to one software license agreement,
which was originally recorded in its entirety in the third quarter of 2001,
should instead be recognized over the four-year life of the agreement.”
BroadVision received payment in full in connection with this transaction
during 2001.
Revenue for the third quarter of 2001 decreased by $3.5 million from $51.2
million as originally reported to $47.7 million. Basic pro forma loss per
share for the third quarter of 2001 increased from 6 cents to 7 cents.
Because revenue associated with the agreement is being recognized over time,
the company’s revenue for the fourth quarter of 2001 increased by $251,000
from $48 million as originally announced to $48.2 million as revised.
BroadVision was profitable in 1998 and 1999, before running into the Internet
recession in 2001. Last year it lost $3.02 per share. At one time its stock
traded in the mid-$80 range. It closed yesterday at $1.72.
The company said that its deal with Armonk, N.Y.-based International Business
Machines Corp. is an OEM agreement that will allow
BroadVision to resell the IBM WebSphere Application Server in conjunction
with BroadVision’s enterprise self-service applications.
Financial specifics were not disclosed, but BroadVision said that advances in
the BroadVision/IBM relationship over the past six months include full
integration of IBM’s WebSphere Application Server, WebSphere MQ family and
Tivoli Policy Director with BroadVision’s e-business application platform,
BroadVision One-To-One Enterprise and other apps.