Saba Reports Revenue Up, Acquires Ultris

Saba Software Inc. reported strong fourth-quarter and yearly revenue Wednesday, but the E-learning software vendor projected flat revenue for the near future. That may be a sign that the E-learning market will feel the IT spending slump battering other enterprise software developers.

"The market is tough," says Trace Urdan, a W.R. Hambrecht equity research analyst. During a conference call, Saba CFO Terry Carlitz said that while the company is on track to break even, first-quarter earnings likely will be flat. Though Saba once seemed to be avoiding the effects of the economic slowdown, "they are still an enterprise software company, and it's getting harder to get customers to say yes," Urdan says.

But thanks to an increased customer base and expanded product lines, Saba reported triple-digit revenue growth for both the year and the fourth quarter. For the year ended May 31, Saba reported revenue of $53.1 million, an increase of 195% over $18 million last year. However, losses increased to $62,791 for the fiscal year, or $1.49 per share, compared with $54.4 million, or $2.94 per share, last year.

For the quarter, Saba reported a net loss of $10.4 million, or 24 cents a share, on revenue of $15.5 million. That compares with a net loss of $20.7 million, 67 per share, on revenue of $7.6 million for the same period last year.

The company also said it has agreed to acquire Ultris, a knowledge-management and collaborative-learning developer in Redwood Shores, Calif. The Ultris instant-messaging technology will be integrated into Saba Content, Saba's Web-based content-management platform.