Iona tighten losses in fourth quarter

Dublin-based software company Iona reported a net loss of $5m (€3.9m) for the fourth quarter period compared to a loss of $308m (€244m) a year earlier.

This follows a number of cost-cutting measures, including redundancies, over the past year.

Total revenues were $23.4 (€18.5m), compared with $30.8m (€24.4m) a year earlier. Iona CEO and co-founder Chris Horn said he was pleased with the performance.

Looking forward, the company expects revenue for the first quarter of 2004 in the range of $16m-18m and total expenses, including both cost of revenue and operating expenses, to be in the range of $17m-18m.

Shares in Iona were up nearly 9%, or 50c, to €6.10 at 2.30pm on the ISEQ following the news.