Iona falls on fifth profit warning

Shares in Iona Technologies fell sharply yesterday as the company announced its fifth profit warning in just over three years.

The software company, which recently announced a management reshuffle, said it had experienced sales delays for its Corba product in the current quarter.

The delays would cause the company's revenue to be in the range of $13.6 million (€11.38) to $14.1 million , compared to the $16 million to $17 million guidance that Iona Technologies issued in April.

In a statement, Iona Technologies said it expects to report a net loss for the second quarter in the range of $0.06 to $0.08 per share.

This compares with a small profit of $107,000 generated in the first quarter by Iona Technologies. The company's slump back into the red will be a disappointment for its investors, who have experienced five profit warnings in just over three years.

Mr Peter Zotto, Iona Technologies chief executive, said the firm was continuing to pursue certain enterprise software transactions that it had expected to close prior to the quarter's conclusion.

"Despite the time delay we experienced in closing these Corba transactions in the second quarter, Iona is pleased to confirm that Artix performed as the firm had expected," said Mr Zotto, who took on the position as chief executive in April.

Iona Technologies core software product for many years has been Corba, which helps firms to integrate different systems that they use.

However, the firm recently launched a new suite of software products called Artix, which the firm hopes will grow to become its core software product in the future.

Iona shares closed down $0.23 at $2.82 last night.