Informix Unveils Huge Loss

To Whom may be Concerned: Informix Unveils Huge Loss, Says CFO Quits May 1, 1997 1:41 PM EDT MENLO PARK, Calif. (Reuter) - Informix Corp. on Thursday reported a huge = first-quarter loss, as expected, and unveiled a restructuring plan that = will include job cuts and an unspecified charge in the second quarter. Informix, the second-biggest publisher of database software, also said = Chief Financial Officer Alan Henricks, who had been on the job only = since January, resigned. The company, based in Menlo Park, Calif., said it will not report a = profit for at least another two quarters. Informix is reeling from product miscues. In December, the compay = introduced Universal Server, an advanced database product. Although Informix's new products have been praised by technology = analysts, customers so far have not been willing to base critical = record-keeping systems on them. Informix reported a first-quarter loss of $140.1 million, or 93 cents a = share, compared with net income of $15.9 million, or 10 cents a share, = in the same quarter a year ago. The company had warned a month ago that = it would report a significant loss. First-quarter revenue plunged 34 percent to $133.7 million from $204 = million. Informix said it will shut some operations and lay off an unspecified = number of workers. To cover the cost, the company will take a charge in = the second quarter, which ends in June. The company also consolidated various product sales teams into one = group. "It will take the second quarter to get in shape. It will take the = third-quarter to get business to ramp up, and hopefully by the end of = the year we'll break even,'' said Phil White, Informix chief executive. The company also said CFO Henricks resigned. White said he understood = Henrick's decision to leave. Henricks was caught by surprise by the size = of Informix's shortfall. "Alan came here to be part of a billion-dollar software company,'' White = said. ``He doesn't feel this is the place he wants to be going = forward.'' In a statement, Henricks said the decision was difficult ''coming as it = does at an awkward time for Informix. This is a company with excellent = products.'' On the Nasdaq, Informix shares were down 50 cents at $6.813.