Platinum Software Reports Annual Loss of $32.9 Million

Platinum Software Corp., a struggling maker of accounting software that has laid off more than 130 employees in the past year, said Wednesday that it lost $32.9 million for its fiscal year.

Platinum’s loss, which amounted to $2.33 a share for the year ended June 30, was nearly six times larger than its loss of $5.7 million, or 44 cents a share, for its previous fiscal year.

Sales for the year fell 28% to $40.6 million from $56.2 million the previous year.

Platinum has been plagued by a series of problems for several years, including a recently settled shareholder suit stemming from the company’s admission that it had overstated revenue by $18 million in 1992 and 1993.

The company also has had trouble meeting its sales forecasts, prompting it to switch from a direct sales force to computer product resellers.

Platinum lost $3 million, or 18 cents a share, for its fourth quarter, three times more than its loss of $1 million, or 8 cents a share, in the final quarter a year earlier. Quarterly revenue fell 37% to $9.4 million from year-earlier quarterly sales of $14.9 million.

But L. George Klaus, who was hired earlier this year as Platinum’s chief executive, pointed to a rise in sales from the third to fourth quarters as a sign that his turnaround plan is taking hold.

“I did not expect we would be this far ahead of my original turnaround plan,” he said.