Epicor Losses Drop Value of Stock 14%

Shares of Epicor Software Corp. fell 14% Monday after the company said that it will report a larger-than-expected loss for the fourth quarter. The price dropped 72 cents to close at $4.34 a share in Nasdaq trading.

The drop in price on the first trading day of 2000 comes after the Irvine software maker’s value fell 60% over the past year.

Epicor said last week it will likely lose 68 cents to 73 cents a share, much of it coming from charges related to the company’s reorganization and write-downs of certain assets.

Excluding the charges and write-downs, the company would post a quarterly operating loss of 24 cents to 29 cents a share. It was expected to lose 11 cents, the average estimate of three analysts polled by IBES International Inc.

Epicor attributed its loss to investments in its sales force, product development and market programs. It said it will cut 11% of its employees and contractors worldwide and reduce facilities over the next few months.

As a result of the actions, the company will take a fourth-quarter charge of $18 million, or 44 cents a share. It earned $5.6 million, or 19 cents a share, in last year’s final quarter, when it was known as Platinum Software Corp.