Sapient Posts 4Q Loss

Sapient had a pro forma loss of $14 million, or 11 cents a share, compared with a profit of $13.1 million, or 10 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

The pro forma results exclude amortization of intangibles, stock-based compensation, restructuring charges and other non-recurring items along with the associated tax effects, Sapient said.

Revenues fell 55 percent to $63.29 million from $139.18 million a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call had expected Sapient to post a loss of 13 cents in the quarter, with estimates ranging from a loss of 6 cents to a loss of 17 cents per share.

Including those charges and items, Sapient said its net loss for the quarter was $29.5 million, or 23 cents a share, compared with a profit of $8.12 million, or 6 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.

For its first quarter 2002, Sapient expects to post earnings in the range of 11 cents to 13 cents a share on revenues between $55 million and $60 million.

Those expectations are broadly in line with the current range of estimates on Wall Street. The consensus is for a loss of 10 cents a share, with a range of a loss of 6 cents to 15 cents a share, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.

Sapient shares, which closed the regular trading session 17.02 percent higher at $5.50, slipped slightly in after hours trade, at $5.30, according to Instinet.

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