Siebel Q3 net income plunges 48 percent

Siebel Systems Inc. Wednesday reported disappointing third-quarter results that include a 38 percent drop in software licensing fees.

The market leader in customer relationship management (CRM) software, Siebel Systems saw net income drop 48 percent to US$35.2 million from year-earlier net income of $67.5 million.

Siebel's earnings hit seven cents a share - the low end of Wall Street's lowered expectations. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call had forecast earnings of five cents to $0.14, with a consensus of $0.09.

Third-quarter total revenue fell 14 percent to $428.5 million, from $496.5 million for the same period in 2000.

License revenue for the third quarter came in at $193.5 million, compared with $308.8 million a year earlier. Revenue from maintenance, consulting and other services hit $235 million, an increase of 25 percent over last year's $187.7 million.

The company said it had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments at Sept. 30 of $1.5 billion, which represents an increase of $57.2 million from June 30.