Loss narrows at Novell

Business software developer Novell Inc. said Wednesday its fiscal third-quarter loss narrowed as maintenance and subscription revenue rose and sales costs declined.

For the quarter ended July 31, Novell posted a loss of $3.4 million, or a penny per share, compared with a loss of $6.5 million, or 2 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding special items, income per common share from continuing operations totaled $16.1 million, or 5 cents per share.

Revenue climbed to $243.1 million from $236.3 million in the same quarter last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected third-quarter earnings of 2 cents per share on revenue of $234.8 million. These earnings estimates tend to exclude special items.

Novell said its maintenance and subscription revenue climbed year over year to $124.8 million from $117.5 million.

For the rest of the fiscal year, Novell reiterated its expectation for revenue between $925 million and $955 million, in line with previous guidance.

Novell expects to beat its previous guidance for adjusted income from operations of up to $10 million.

Novell shares added 12 cents to $6.91 in after-hours trading, after finishing regular trading up 14 cents at $6.79. (AP)