TIBCO Software, Inc., the IT and application connection specialist, reported mixed results on Thursday, as first-quarter sales dropped markedly but the company managed to protect profits.
Total revenue for the three months ended March 1, 2009, fell to $132.9 million, 9% less than the $146.6 million TIBCO reported in the first quarter of fiscal 2008. License sales led the decline, dropping 22% to $44.8 million from $57.8 million in the year-ago period. A solid performance in its maintenance and services business – which remained flat at $88 million in the quarter – helped temper the slide.
And, despite the sagging sales, the company managed to nurture the bottom line, with net income ticking up 2% to $5.6 million, or $0.03 per diluted share. The effort was helped along by some belt-tightening in the areas of sales and marketing, where expenses dropped $8 million year over year, and general and administrative costs, which shrunk by $3 million.
In a statement, TIBCO CEO and Chairman Vivek Ranadivé called out the company’s operating performance as an area of strength as TIBCO looks to weather economic uncertainty.