Commerce One Gains on Strong Q4

Commerce One, Inc. (Nasdaq: CMRC), which operates a network of online marketplaces, was up US$7 at $28.69 in early Friday trading after the company reported strong results for the fourth quarter.

Revenue for the quarter totaled $191.4 million, up from just $16.9 million in the same quarter in 1999.

Before acquisition-related costs and other charges, the company lost $10.8 million, or 5 cents per share, compared with $11.7 million, or 8 cents, in the year-earlier quarter. Analysts were expecting the company to lose 7 cents per share in the latest quarter.

The net loss, however, widened to $197.5 million, or 99 cents per share, from $28.8 million, or 20 cents, for the Pleasanton, California-based company.

Commerce One officials boosted their estimates for the current fiscal year, according to published reports, because they see no signs of a slowdown in demand for e-marketplace services.

Chairman and chief executive officer Mark Hoffman of Commerce One said the results reflect the significant and continuing demand for e-marketplaces. The company said it added 89 new customers during the fourth quarter, for a total of 504. Agreements were signed with Covisint and Trade-Ranger, and the company now operates 141 online marketplaces, 67 of them currently operational.

In addition, the company signed new or expanded alliances with Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), Sun Microsystems, Hubstorm, Vastera and NetVendor.

These alliances have the potential to significantly increase the number of companies accessing the Commerce One Global Trading Web, and "demonstrate the company's ongoing strategy to provide an open platform and broad choices for customers," Commerce One said.