For its first fiscal quarter of 2010, Aspen Technology, a purveyor of manufacturing and supply chain software for the process industries, reported a net loss of $21.1 million on revenue of $39.8 million.
The comparison with the year-ago quarter, when AspenTech reported earnings of $11.6 million and $86.4 million in revenue, was skewed by the company’s new subscription-based licensing model, which it introduced during the first quarter, ended Sept. 30, 2009.
In July, the company rolled out the aspenONE V7 Manufacturing and Supply Chain (MSC) software suite. The advanced process control product is sold through a token-based licensing model that allows customers to use only the software they need. Rather than purchasing a large software license for the entire software suite, manufacturers buy into a contract that provides them access to all products. They then refer to a menu of products — each with a token value — and invest in the offerings that make sense for their organization, the company said.