Corel warns of doubling loss in Q2

It just keeps getting worse for Corel. Having announced plans to sack 320 workers and deprive CEO Michael Cowpland of his salary - all in an attempt to save $40 million in operating expenses - the company now has to face narrowing revenues and a plummeting loss.

Corel said today its second fiscal quarter will see a loss of $22-24 million - roughly double that of Q1 2000 - on revenues of $37-38 million. For the same period last year, the company recorded revenues of $70.5 million and a profit of $9.7 million.

Revenues for Q1 2000 were $44.1 million, with a loss of $12.4 million.

The silver lining on Corel's cloud is that, according to CFO John Blaine, the company's operating expenses will be lower in Q2 than they were in Q1. Maybe, but that isn't going to help much in Q3, when the cost of all those job cuts will begin to be felt in Corel's bottom line.

Another ray of hope is that while Corel's revenues are down, they're only off by around 16 per cent - an appreciable increase but not one that implies (at least not yet) that Corel's users are deserting the company. If the company can complete its cost-cutting measures without significant falls in revenue, it will at least have a basis to build the business back up. But that's going to take some killer products - and Corel doesn't have many of those under its sleeve. ®