Green shoots may be sprouting across pockets of the economy, but lagging indicators such as quarterly earnings tend to show a different picture, and design software provider Autodesk’s second quarter of fiscal 2010 was no exception.
For the three-month period ended July 31, the company’s sales force brought in revenue of $414.9 million, 33% less than the $619.5 million reported in the second quarter of fiscal 2009. License sales were particularly weak, plunging nearly 48% to $231 million. Maintenance revenue actually crept up almost 3% to $183.9 million during the period.
No geography was safe from the sales decline, as revenue from the Americas dropped 21% to $159 million; EMEA fell 41% and lost its place as Autodesk’s biggest regional contributor, delivering $157 million; and Asia Pacific lost a third of its sales, contributing $99 million.
The sagging top line ate into profits, as the company reported net income of $10.5 million in the quarter, compared with $89.8 million a year earlier. Still, the black ink reversed a first-quarter loss of $32.1 million.