Software Firm in Turmoil

The turmoil at financially struggling Platinum Software Corp. continued in its fiscal third quarter, as the company announced a $14.5-million loss, a steep decline in sales and another round of layoffs.

Platinum, a company that makes accounting software for corporations, laid off about 75 employees in the quarter, including 15 at the company’s Irvine headquarters, said chief financial officer Michael Simmons. Most of the job cuts came as the company shut down a sales and support center in New Zealand and scaled back a similar operation in England, Simmons said. Platinum had laid off 60 employees in its second quarter.

At the end of the third quarter, Platinum had 321 employees worldwide, including about 200 in Irvine.

Those job cuts and other restructuring charges accounted for about $4.2 million of the quarterly loss. Platinum Software lost $1.9 million, or 15 cents per share, in the comparable period a year earlier.

Sales plummeted 37% to $8.4 million from $13.4 million a year earlier. Part of that decline was attributed to the company’s recent switch from a direct sales force to selling its products through so-called value-added resellers, organizations that sell wide arrays of computer products made by various companies.

Simmons was quick to point out that the company has $14.3 million in cash, and that recent steps to trim expenses have strengthened the company’s outlook. Through its first three quarters, Platinum reported a loss of $30 million on sales of $31.2 million, compared to a year-earlier loss of $4.7 million on sales of $41.3 million.