Compuware Joins Profit-Warning List

Compuware Corp. said it expects fiscal first-quarter earnings to fall roughly 50% below Wall Street’s already diminished expectations, the latest mainframe software firm to warn of lackluster results. Compuware, a maker of mainframe software programming tools, said it expected to post a profit of 7 cents to 9 cents a share, before amortization expenses tied to recent acquisitions. Analysts were expecting 15 cents a share, according to First Call/Thomson Financial. Citing weakness in the software market, Compuware estimated its revenue for the fiscal first quarter ended June 30 to be between $490 million and $510 million. “Once again, we had several large deals that did not come in at the end of the quarter,” said Compuware spokeswoman Beth Chappell. Compuware joined rivals Computer Associates International Inc. and BMC Software Inc., two other top makers of mainframe software who told investors earlier this week that their results would be weaker than expected. In the previous quarter, Compuware also warned that profit wouldn’t meet forecasts, sending its shares down 40% in one day. Compuware’s shares fell $1.09 to close at $9.16 in Nasdaq trading, below the previous 52-week low of $9.25 and well off the year’s high of $40.