RSA Security blamed a combination of one-time restructuring charges
and sluggish sales for a $25m loss for the second quarter of
2002.
Arthur Coviello, RSA president and chief executive officer,
admitted the market was "still oppressive".
For the quarter ending 30 June, RSA posted a net loss of $25m,
based on US generally accepted accounting principles, down sharply
from a net income of $13.3m, for the same quarter last year.
The loss included a series of one-time charges, including a
restructuring charge of $22.7m, an $8.5m charge because of a
decline in the value of investments and $6.8m in other charges.
RSA's core operating business, which excludes the operations of the
company's RSA Capital division, posted a net loss of $2.1m for the
quarter, down from a net income of $10.1m for the same period last
year.
However, RSA tallied revenue of $56.5m, down from the $80.8m the
company brought in during the second quarter of 2001, but slightly
higher than the $55.1m forecast by analysts.
The company's higher-than-expected revenue illustrates RSA is
"well-positioned for the time when IT spending inevitably does
increase", Coviello said.
"This quarter's performance demonstrates an underlying strength in
our core operations," he said.
RSA spent $13.9m on research and development, down from the $16.m
it spent in the same quarter last year.