Business: Linux, New Technologies,
Source: CNET
SCO sees loss on legal fees
Last modified: December 22, 2003, 6:07 AM PST
By Matt Hines
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
update Controversial Unix software company the SCO Group reported a loss for its fourth quarter on Monday based largely on hefty legal fees the company has accrued in waging its intellectual property war against Linux.
The Lindon, Utah-based company said it had a fourth-quarter net loss of $1.6 million, or 12 cents per share, compared with a loss of $2.7 million, or 26 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. SCO said it would have reported earnings of $7.4 million, or 44 cents per share, for the quarter before making a $9 million payout to lawyers who represent the company in its Linux battles.
SCO's fourth-quarter revenue was $24.3 million, up from $15.5 million a year ago.
The company said $10.3 million of its revenue for the quarter, which ended Oct. 31, came from its SCO source licensing division, which is charged with protecting SCO's Unix-related intellectual property. SCO reported that much of that income came from licensing agreements reached earlier in the year with software makers Microsoft and Sun Microsystems. The company also had $14 million in revenue from its Unix products and services.
For fiscal year 2003, SCO reported earnings of $5.3 million, or 34 cents per share, compared with a loss of $24.9 million, or $1.93 per share, in fiscal 2002. Before paying its legal bills, the company would have reported earnings of $14.3 million, or 91 cents per share, for 2003.
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