Palo Alto, Aug 22: Software maker Novell Inc. said on Thursday it swung to a quarterly loss from a year ago profit and that it had cut 10 per cent of its work force as it looks to lower operating expenses in a tough tech climate. Despite the news, which was offset by the company`s announcement that it plans continued cost-cuts, shares were up 6 per cent in after-hours trade on Instinet.
Novell declined to give guidance for the near-term, citing economic uncertainty.
"The marketplace for IT spending is still difficult. It hasn`t gotten worse, but it really hasn`t gotten measurably better," Jack Messman, Novell`s chairman, president and chief executive said. For its fiscal third quarter ended July 31, Provo, Utah-based Novell had a net loss of $12.4 million, or 3 cents per share. In the year-earlier quarter, the company had net income of $9.9 million, or 3 cents per share. Bureau Report