Corel today reported bigger than expected losses for the fourth quarter, but said it still expected to get back into the black by October.

The Canadian software vendor saw losses of $8.6 million, or 12 cents per share, for the three months ended November 30. This compared with a profit of $4.6 million, or eight cents per share, for the same period the previous year.

Sales dropped 33 per cent to $40.4 million from $60.9 million in Q4 1999. But revenue up on the third quarter's $36.4 million, partly due to early sales of its Corel Draw 10 Graphics Suite - which went on sale shortly before the company's 2000 year end.

Corel repeated its forecast from last week that it would return to profit in this year's fiscal third quarter. At the time, its recently appointed CEO Derek Burney said it would spin off its Linux OS business and up sales by at least 20 per cent every year over the next three years.

Burney took over as head of the company after Corel founder Michael Cowpland quit in August. ®

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