DESCARTES REPORTS $6-MILLION 1ST-QUARTER LOSS, LOWER REVENUES

DESCARTES REPORTS $6-MILLION 1ST-QUARTER LOSS, LOWER REVENUES    Descartes Systems Group Inc., the Canadian logistics software firm, posted a net deficit of $6.1 million for the three months ended April 30, compared to a net loss of $12.3 million in the same period of last year.
   Revenues for the quarter decreased 28 percent to $16.8 million, from $23.4 million in February-April 2001.
   Loss from operations narrowed to $7.4 million in the latest quarter, from $14 million in the year-earlier period.
   The first quarter represented the first full quarter of execution of the company’s new pricing model, which replaced upfront license fees with monthly subscription and usage-based transaction fees.
   Descartes completed the quarter with $190 million in cash and cash equivalents and marketable debt securities.
   “The company’s focus is on execution, and we are pleased that over 100 customers selected Descartes solutions to streamline their operations this quarter,” said Manuel Pietra, Descartes’ co-chief executive officer and president.
   Descartes handled about 82 million transactions over its global logistics services network in the quarter, or an average of 1.3 million transactions per billing day, the company reported.