Inktomi Falls on Warning, Layoffs

Inktomi (Nasdaq: INKT) was down US$2.40 at $3.82 in morning trading Tuesday, after the software maker joined others in the Internet industry in lowering its outlook for the quarter just ended and announcing plans to cut jobs.

“Economic conditions in the United States and Europe have declined more quickly than we had initially anticipated, forcing us to take strong cost-cutting measures for the continued health of our business,” Inktomi president and chief executive officer David Peterschmidt said.

The Foster City, California-based maker of Internet infrastructure software said it expects a loss of 23 to 25 cents per share, before one-time charges, for the second quarter ended March 31st. Analysts had reportedly expected a loss of 4 cents per share.

Revenue will likely total $36 million to $38 million, the company said. Inktomi said it will report second-quarter results on April 19th.

The company said it plans to cut about 25 percent of its workforce “through a combination of attrition and management action,” and to reduce costs in other areas as well. The moves will result in a charge to earnings for the quarter ending in June, Inktomi said.

Inktomi reported revenue of $80.5 million for the first quarter ended December 31st, up from $36.1 million a year earlier, along with income before amortization and charges of $1.0 million, or 1 cent per share.

Inktomi had lowered its outlook for the first quarter ahead of the report, saying that a slowing economy had caused customers to cut back on spending on Internet infrastructure products.

Inktomi shares set a previous 52-week low of $5.45 last month, after trading above $200 last year.

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