J.D. Edwards Costs Drag Down PeopleSoft's Quarterly Earnings

Net income was $24 million, a nearly 37 percent drop from $38 million a year earlier. Results reflected an estimated $38 million in write-down, amortization and other charges related to the company's July 2003 acquisition of J.D. Edwards.

Total revenue was $643 million, compared with $460.3 million a year ago. The Pleasanton, Calif., company had previously said it expected total revenue between $625 million and $635 million.

Pro forma results, excluding charges from the JD Edwards acquisition, showed $62 million in earnings and 17 cents earnings per share. In that context, analysts had expected 18 cents a share, according to Thomson/First Call.

License revenue grew nearly 62 percent to $130,886, up from $80,841 the first quarter of last year. License revenue include one-time J.D. Edwards products. PeopleSoft Chairman and CEO Craig Conway said license revenue would have been higher if not for the fact that several "EnterpriseOne deals could not be delivered in time, shipping the first day following the end of the quarter. That's because EnterpriseOne systems take longer to build then Enterprise."

CFO Kevin Parker said the company spent $12.8 million in the quarter defending itself against Oracle's hostile takeover. In addition, the maximum potential liability associated with its poison-pill Customer Assurance Program has risen to about $2 billion.

PeopleSoft stock fell 73 cents, or 4 percent, in after-hours trading.