Descartes earns first quarter profit

Descartes earns first quarter profit    The Descartes Systems Group, a provider of on-demand logistics technology and services, has posted its first profit as a public company, with net income of $500,000 in its fiscal first quarter, ending April 30.
   The company's first quarter net income contrasted a loss of $1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2005. A year ago, Descartes had a first-quarter loss of $28.9 million.
   Descartes reported first quarter revenue of $11.3 million, up from $11 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2005 and $13.3 million in last year's first quarter.
   The company's aggregate cash, cash equivalents and marketable security at the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 2006 were $53,1 million, up $4.3 million from the position at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2005.
   Descartes received $1.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2006 from the sale of 22 percent of its long-term investment in Ocado Ltd., a U.K.-based, online grocer and customer of Descartes.
   The Descartes Systems Group is based in Waterloo, Ontario.