By Staff Report Thursday, May 25th, 2017

Santa Barbara-based manufacturing software provider QAD reported a $2.6 million net loss for the fiscal first quarter 2018, ended April 30.

Revenues grew 9.1 percent compared to the same period the previous year to $71.4 million, despite a $1.2 million impact from currency. This was primarily driven by a 34 percent increase in subscription revenue to $15.3 million.

Operating expenses grew 4.5 percent to $37.9 million for the quarter, primarily in sales, general and administrative expenses, but fell as a percentage of total revenue. Net loss per share fell from 15 cents for the first quarter of 2017 to 14 cents in the most recent quarter.

“We were pleased to see strong bookings performance in our cloud business, combined with continued improvements to our subscription gross margin,” CEO Karl Lopker said in a news release. “Our services business continues to increase as demand for upgrades and cloud implementations remains strong. The environment for global manufacturing remains positive and we are well positioned for ongoing success.”

The company had cash and cash equivalents of $153.3 million, with $136 million in current liabilities. Shares for the company fell 1.9 percent May 25, before the announcement, ending at $25.50.

QAD stated expectations of $71 million-$73 million in revenue for the second quarter, for a pre-tax loss of $1 million-$1.5 million. Full year revenues are expected to be in the range of $288 million-$292 million.

• Contact Marissa Nall at mnall@pacbiztimes.com.