Bonum Certa Men Certa

Novell's Results Not Enough to Prevent Takeover



Summary: Companies arguably see what's coming and they stop buying Novell, leaving the company at Microsoft's mercy and the hands of vulturous hedge funds

THE BIDDING is not public yet, but it is likely to become publicised next week, just like in the previous quarter. Yes, it is highly probable that Novell will be bought soon and Novell customers feel "nervous", as reported the other day. Don't take it from anecdotal evidence; here is Novell's CFO talking about the issues more statistically:



Novell Inc. (NOVL US): Chief Financial Officer Dana Russell said customers are delaying some contract signings until they better understand the long-term prospects for the maker of Linux operating-system software. Novell has said it’s reviewing whether to sell itself.


Here is a transcript of Novell's Earnings Call (sliced into three pages), here is an event announcement, and Novell's press release about its results. UNIX/Linux expert Timothy from The Register has it covered and he goes beyond press releases and fluff sourced from Novell.

Whatever drama is going on at Novell in the boardroom — where the company is apparently soliciting takeover offers from up to 20 different prospective buyers — it has spilled over into the company's financial results.

[...]

In a call with Wall Street analysts, Dana Russell, Novell's chief financial officer, said that fiscal Q2 revenues were in line with expectations and profits came in at the high end of the range. Linux bookings were down 3 per cent and Linux invoicing was down 1 per cent in the quarter, with a tough compare because so many Microsoft shops cashed in their SUSE Linux certificates in the year ago quarter.

Excluding these Microsoft deals, Russell said that the SUSE Linux invoicing in the quarter was up 46 per cent compared to last year. But that seems to indicate how weak SUSE Linux sales were a year ago and how dependent Novell's Linux biz is on what Microsoft customers do. Part of the problem is that Microsoft bought SUSE Linux licenses at 45 per cent of the then-current list price in 2007, and at current prices for SUSE Linux support, these licenses are renewing at something closer to 15 per cent of that original value. This makes the compares for the Linux biz doubly tough. But, Novell is optimistic as always. "We are pleased with the growth in our core business," Russell said.


Novell is too Microsoft dependent. Red Hat sells GNU/Linux without this silly reliance on software patents tax and that is why Novell's future looks neither so promising nor long. There is no reason to buy SLE* anymore.

Some additional references are added below. ____ [1] A Look Ahead to Novell's Earnings Announcement; NOVL, SYMC, MFE, ASIA

[2] Novell (NOVL) Expected TO Report Q1 Earnings Of $0.07 Per Share

[3] Macquarie Maintains Bullish Stance on Novell (NOVL) Into Q2 Results

[4] How to Make Money During Market Corrections: M&A Plays

It’s certainly not reasonable to assume that NOVL’s final buyout price will be affected much by the market dropping on a given day. Therefore, on days like this I tend to buy more NOVL.


[5] Ahead Of Novell's Q2 Report (also here)

[6] Novell, Guess Trade Higher Ahead of Earnings Reports Due After the Bell

[7] Notable Earnings After Thursday's Close: GES, BCSI, JCG, NOVL, OVTI, SXE

Novell, Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) is scheduled to release its fiscal second-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Thursday, May 27, 2010. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 7 cents per share on revenue of $204.85 million. In the year ago period, the company reported earnings of 8 cents per share on revenue of $215.60 million.


[8] Macquarie Research Sets $7.50 Price Target on Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL)

[9] Wall Street Set For Higher Start

After the markets close, Adaptec (ADPT), Diamond Foods (DMND), Guess (GES) and J Crew (JCG), Novell (NOVL) are among the major companies that are due to release their results.


[10] Novell (NOVL) Profits Rise, But Just Match Estimates

Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) posted on Thursday fiscal second-quarter results mostly in-line with the market expectations, while also failing to impress investors with its guidance for the current quarter.


[11] Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) Cautious

[12] Top NASDAQ Stocks to Watch (JCG, NOVL, AIG)

[13] Novell Reports a 28% Gain in Quarterly Profit

[14] Novell reports 28% profit gain

[15] Novell 2Q Profit Up 28% On Lower Expenses; Revenue, Margins Down

[16] Novell Q2 profit beats Street, sees weak Q3 rev

[17] Novell FY Q2 Revs Miss; Q3 View Below Estimates; Shrs Slip

[18] Viacom, Guess, Novell

[19] Novell Q2 Profit Rises; Guides Q3 - Quick Facts 2

[20] Novell, Inc. Reports Q2 2010 Earnings, Net Revenue Down from Last Year (NOVL) (also here)

[21] Novell 2Q Profit, 3Q Revenue View In Line With Expectations

[22] Novell Q2 Profit Rises 25%; Sees Q3 Revenue Below Consensus

[23] Novell (NOVL) Posts $19.9 Million 2nd Quarter Income

[24] After-Hours Movers 5/27: OVTI, ESL, LAVA, DITC, JCG Higher; BCSI, GES, NOVL, UPI Lower

[25] Earnings Recap: J Crew (JCG), Novell (NOVL), Blue Coat Systems (BCSI)

[26] After-Hours Earnings Roundup: GES, NOVL, JCG, BCSI, OVTI

[27] Novell posts higher 2Q profit but revenue slides (also here)

Operating costs fell 7 percent to $142.8 million.


[28] Novell Reports Q2 2010 Income of $20M

Recent Techrights' Posts

Google 'Search' is Fast Becoming No Better Than Social Control Media Infested With Bots
Google emerged almost 30 years ago as a company looking to organise the Web and direct people towards informative pages. That Google is dead.
Before the OSI Was Bribed and Hijacked by Microsoft via GitHub and Compromised Management...
The OSI isn't even remotely "woke"
The OSI Has Been Silent for Over 3 Weeks, It Has a Severe Trust Issue After Promoting Microsoft and Proprietary GitHub
OSI took a lot of money from Microsoft to become a Microsoft lobbyist
Bribery is OK If You Work for Microsoft (No Punishment Expected)
It's very troubling and a symptom of a broken society/system when particular laws or rules are applied and enforced against some people but not against others
Someone Should Remind Microsoft Lunduke That Microsoft Hires Many Sexual Criminals and Pedophiles as Well
Microsoft Lunduke on an "expedition" to find one or more perverts, then generalise to everyone in the "community"
Cash Machines (ATMs) Make Mistakes and They're Proprietary Software
Correcting mistakes is a colossal challenge
Yes, Microsoft is the Problem
"I am no MS shill."
Another Failed Use Case for Chatbots (LLM): Legal Advice and Analysis
They're just some self-discrediting toy that costs way too much to operate
 
Not Owning Mobile Phones
It's not about resistance; it's common sense
PCLinuxOS Had Functional Backups Before the House Fire, the Site Will be Restored in New Webhost
This is the direction we want for GNU/Linux, not some IBM sales strategy
Gemini Links 30/07/2025: Two Sides of Me and "Hooked on Cosmic Voyage"
Links for the day
Microsoft Will Continue Resorting to Crimes in Order to Keep GNU/Linux Usage Down
It is a real problem and we'll revisit it later this week
GAFAM 'Revolving Doors' at The Register and a "Bribe Price List"
"an analyst at Microsoft"
Microsoft Rapidly Shrinking (No, It's Not About Efficiency, It's About Unbearable Debt)
We'll soon see how much debt grew in the past quarter
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 29, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Corruption is the Standard Operating Procedure at the European Patent Office (EPO)
The EPO is a dictatorship that stains Europe
Local Staff Committee Munich (LSCMN) at the European Patent Office (EPO) Requests an Urgent Meeting to Avoid Abolishing the Office
This is dictatorship led by the most corrupt
Slopwatch: Fake 'Linux' 'Articles' and Spamfarms/Slopfarms
at least 5 fake articles in one day
Gemini Links 29/07/2025: Wayland Unfit for Use and LLM Slop Faking One's Language Skills With Robot Communications
Links for the day
Nailing the "Hey Hi" (AI) Hype Bubble
So-called "hey hi" as they define it now is all about large companies or regimes remotely controlling the processes running on your machine and even your very own behaviour on your machine, which is in effect no longer your machine but some remotely controlled apparatus
"Four decades; Four freedoms; For all users" Now as a T-shirt
That's shown along the sidebar
Links 29/07/2025: Bad Climate and "Fair Software Licensing" Blasts Microsoft
Links for the day
Links 29/07/2025: Data Brokers Gone Wrong/Rogue and "Copyright Thicket"
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Linuxconfig.org, Linuxsecurity.com, Fagioli, The Register
Today's "Slopwatch" isn't the first article about LLM slop
We Cover Topics Other Sites Are Too Afraid to Cover (Even When They Know the Facts)
It's not that they doubt the truth, they just realise there may be consequences for talking about it
They Try to Tell Us the Free Software Foundation Inc is Dying, But Its Revenue Doubled Since the Dot-Com Bubble Burst
Being in "Activism" is never easy; but it does positive things for society
It's About the Cost of Workers, Not the Fictional Skills Shortage (That Does Not Exist, the Media Spreads False and Sometimes Self-Fulfilling Narratives)
This issue isn't limited to computing, some dub it "globalism"
Links 29/07/2025: More Pushbacks Against Slop and More Praises of Tom Lehrer
Links for the day
Gemini Links 29/07/2025: Purple Yarrow and Understanding Op Amps
Links for the day
This Monday WebProNews Absolutely Flooded the Web With Fake (LLM Slop) 'Articles' About "Linux", Google News Promoted Them as Legitimate
All of the following are fake articles attributed to pseudonyms or authors that don't exist; the images are also slop. Why does Google promote these?
Linuxiac is Not a Slopfarm, But at Least Some of Its Articles Are Machine-Generated Fakes
what we said about it was correct
Expect More Microsoft Layoffs
"Are more job cuts coming?"
Microsoft Behaving Like It's Running Out of Money to Pay Salaries
Does that seem like the behaviour expected from a company which claims it is "worth" trillions?
LWN Downtime Due to Linode, Not LLM Bots
"I’ve received an email letting me know that there is a potential for data loss."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 28, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, July 28, 2025
Nonfree Software in My Bank, by Richard Stallman
Updated 8 hours ago
Links 28/07/2025: Science, Health, and Conflicts
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/07/2025: Healthy Self-Image With Autism and a "New Life"
Links for the day
Links 28/07/2025: COVID-19 Sped up Brain Aging, "Circumvention is More Popular Than Compliance"
Links for the day
Richard Stallman is Usually Right Because He Thinks "Outside the Box"
he is able to observe society (mores and norms) as somewhat of an outsider
LWN Has Been Down for a Long Time, Another Casualty of LLM Bots?
Time will tell. How much time though?
Slopfarms Versus 'Linux' (and Against People Who Write Real Articles About GNU/Linux)
LLM slop in slopfarms by Brian Fagioli and Redazione RHC
Gemini Links 28/07/2025: Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray and Running pkgsrc in a FreeBSD Jail
Links for the day
Microsoft Turns News Sites Into Spamfarms
Is the site The Register MS the next IDG?
The Register MS/The Register US
On Saturday I contacted them for a comment (before issuing criticism)
Hacking revelations at Vatican Jubilee of Digital Missionaries
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 27, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 27, 2025