Event
Summary
As reported in the press release on the company's Web site on April 27,
Epicor Software Corporation reported its financial results for the first
quarter ended March 31, 2000. Revenues for the first quarter were $56.6
million, compared with $66.1 million for the first quarter 1999. Net loss
for the quarter was $8.9 million or $0.22 per share, compared with a net
income for the same period last year of $2.1 million or $0.05 per share
(See Figure 1).
Figure
1
The
company has continued its aggressive measures to control costs and streamline
its operating processes, which is evidenced by a sequential decrease in
operating expenses from approximately $52.8 million before charges in
the fourth quarter of 1999 to $38.4 million in the first quarter of 2000.
The company believes that the first quarter 2000 revenues were negatively
impacted by an unanticipated lag in demand following Y2K as customers
continued to postpone IT expenditures for enterprise systems, particularly
in the manufacturing sector.
During
the first quarter, the company completed several strategic objectives
aimed at providing its mid-market customers with affordable Internet-driven
solutions. These included the launch of the "e by Epicor" Internet-enabled,
integrated front office and back office solution; delivery of the first
version of Epicor's eCommerce StoreFront solution; and strategic alliances
with Clarus Corporation to provide integrated web-based B2B procurement
and trading exchange solutions to the mid-market; and with Ultimate Software
to provide integrated human resource and payroll solutions.
"While
we are still in a transition period refining our business model, we are
pleased with the progress we have made in aggressively reducing operating
expenditures," said Rick Roll, president and chief operating officer.
"As we have seen this quarter, the industry-wide demand for traditional
enterprise systems following the Y2K slowdown will take longer to rebound
than originally anticipated. We continue to see strong interest in our
front office products and are beginning to see interest in our newly released
eBusiness, eCommerce, eProcurement and B2B trading exchange solutions."
Market
Impact
This year seems to be the continuation of harrowing 1999 for Epicor Software
(formerly Platinum Software). In addition to the Y2K-caused ERP slowdown,
which has also affected most of its competitors, Epicor's situation has
been aggravated by managing the acquisition of DataWorks Corporation,
a mid-range manufacturing ERP supplier which with a history of acquisitions
of its own, had a diverse set of products for different markets and/or
company sizes.
While
the acquisition has made Epicor one of the largest mid-market ERP vendors,
it has also burdened it with a long list of diverse products to be incorporated
into a clear product strategy, to be stabilized, or to be discontinued.
The blending of different corporate cultures has compounded the difficulties.
In January Epicor announced plans to reduce its workforce by approximately
11% to curb costs. Epicor's losses (See Figures 1 & 2) are a direct result
of its challenges, and we believe the next 12 months will be the company's
make-or-break period.
Figure
2
On
a much brighter note, Epicor is a prominent mid-market leader (with more
than 10,000 installations worldwide) due to its focus on the mid-market
from the early days. It has established a very good global presence and
product capabilities, as well as a vertical focus for some industries.
The current hardships have apparently not affected its service & support
delivery and customers' satisfaction. As a matter of fact, Epicor offers
an implementation guarantee regarding time duration and fixed costs. Further,
Epicor, in the final stage of its reorganization, has gradually introduced
a line of integrated e-business, CRM, APS, and business intelligence modules
with its core ERP solution. This promotes it as one of the first mid-market
vendors with integrated back and front offices.
Epicor
will market its bundle of integrated components under the brand name 'e'
(having Vantage and Platinum ERA as its manufacturing and non-manufacturing
core ERP products respectively) and has created separate divisions for
its Avante, Platinum for Windows, Vista and Impresa product lines. Giving
each division profit and loss responsibility should help Epicor weather
the impending stormy period.
User
Recommendations
We generally recommend including Epicor in a long list of an enterprise
application selection for mid-market companies (with $10M-$500M in revenue)
within the following industries: hospitality & food service, financial
services, software & computer services, metal fabrication, capital equipment
manufacturing, and electronics. Users from industries not mentioned above
may benefit from evaluating some stand-alone Epicor product components
(e.g., CRM, APS, e-commerce, and business intelligence application suite)
on an opportunity-by-opportunity basis. This as well as obtaining Epicor's
implementation guarantee could be leveraged against other vendors in the
selection.
Any
organization evaluating Epicor should consider existing functionality
only, and, in the case of final selection, should inquire and negotiate
incorporation of new applications' components now at negotiated license
fees, given its recent increase in new product introductions. Moderate
caution should be exercised now and a watchful eye should be kept on the
company's future financial performance.