The company said last Thursday that it expects revenues of between $15 million and $15.5 million, compared to revenues of $17 million to the end of the March quarter.
Iona expects its losses per share to run between $0.04 and $0.06 per share, compared to earnings of $0.01 for the last quarter.
Analysts had predicted revenues of over $18 million and earnings per share of $0.02. Following the news, Iona shares plummeted 15 percent to $3.44 in early trading in New York.
In a statement released today, CEO Christopher Horn said the markets had responded slowly to the key Iona product, Artix, but that the company believes Artix will be successful in the long term.
“With approximately $53 million in cash and marketable securities on our balance sheet, and a stable cost base, we are well positioned to achieve sustainable performance over the long term,” said Dan Demmer, chief financial officer of Iona.
Artix is an integrator to tie together the functions of applications, tools and whole IT systems that run on different operating systems or programming models.
In mid-June, Dublin City Council selected Iona to provide an intelligent traffic-management system to collate citywide information. Iona’s Orbix will be used to integrate the LUAS into the existing transportation systems.
Iona’s new tumble on the markets doesn’t suggest a serious threat to Ireland’s position as a developer of new and innovative software, however, as a survey by software developer Oracle of senior Irish managers showed on Monday.
An unusually high number of Irish managers, 58 percent, made a direct link between new ideas and better services and the implementation of new technology. That compares well with just 38 percent of English companies and 17 percent of Scottish companies.
“It’s certainly encouraging to hear that such a high number of Irish companies now recognize the impact that technology can have on their businesses,” said Nicky Sheridan, a vice president and managing director of Oracle Ireland.
“It’s indicative of how Irish businesses in recent years have recognized the value and return that technology can bring to their business growth.”
The survey, undertaken by independent IT market researcher Vanson Bourne on behalf of Oracle, is based on a poll of 50 Irish companies with 250 staff or more.
Ireland-based firms also topped the list in making sure technology worked to their benefit. Sixty-four percent of Irish companies conduct an annual review of their IT infrastructure compared to 55 percent in England and 57 percent in Scotland.
Sheridan believes that this is a positive development.
He said: “Of those who annually review the effectiveness of their IT systems a huge majority [86 percent] have made changes to their IT infrastructure as a result, proving that regular evaluation can ensure that IT systems are effectively responding to business needs. The way in which we do business is constantly changing and evolving; if our IT infrastructure is to adequately complement our business processes, it too may require some adaptations.”
The research also revealed that a quarter of Irish businesses view inability to change at a corporate level as the biggest threat to their business today. One in five Irish businesses views a lack of management vision and ability and a lack of access to new markets as the next biggest pressures on their business.
The survey also showed that only five percent of Irish respondents view inability of the workforce to innovate as a threat to business, compared to nine percent of English companies and 16 percent of Scottish companies.