Inforte, an e-services firm based here, reported second-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street analyst estimates by a penny, but said it is moving forward cautiously in the midst of a continued market slump.
For the quarter ended March 31, Inforte reported income of $136,000, or 1 cent per share, on sales of $9.4 million. That compares with income of $934,000, or 7 cents per share, on sales of $14 million for the same quarter last year.
Phil Bligh, CEO of Inforte, said that while recent customer wins are encouraging, clients continue to be cautious about future commitments.
Meanwhile, Inforte posted a 47 percent gross margin, similar to that of first-quarter 2001. Annualized revenue per consultant was $189,000, up from $167,000 during the same quarter last year. As of March 31, 2002, Inforte reported 258 employees, of which 191 are billable. That compares with 294 employees, of which 217 were billable, at the end of 2001.
The company also said it repurchased 27,000 shares of stock at an average price of $9.86. Inforte has $10.2 million remaining on its $25 million stock repurchase program.
Inforte closed trading Wednesday at $11.50 per share. As of March 31, shares not held by executives, officers or directors totaled 6.5 million, or 55 percent of total outstanding shares.
Meanwhile, the revenue forecast for the second half of the year is not yet confirming continuation of the more positive momentum the company experienced in February and March, said Nick Padgett, Inforte's CFO.
As a result, revenue guidance for the second quarter is $9.5 million, before reimbursements, but lowered to $8.5 million per quarter for the third and fourth quarters of 2002.
