DIGEST BRIEFS

LHS

LHS Group Inc. said its net earnings during the third quarter rose to $11.7 million, up from $7.3 million a year earlier. Earnings per share increased to 20 cents, an eight-cent rise from the third quarter of 1998. “Our move from a largely one-product company to a multiproduct solutions provider in the [operational support system] market is paying off,” said Hartmut Lademacher, chairman and chief executive officer.

LHS also announced it made a $10 million equity investment in Athene Software Inc. and the companies have signed a worldwide distribution agreement giving LHS the right to market and sell Athene’s APT Churn and other APT platform products. “Athene’s software combined with our Decision Support Software, currently in beta testing, will provide subscriber-centric applications that will enable our customers worldwide to maximize subscriber retention and enhance subscriber profitability,” said Jon Limbird, LHS executive vice president and chief technical officer. APT Churn uses data mining, machine learning models and advanced statistical techniques to predict subscriber churn potential, suggest retention methods and evaluate ongoing credit risks.

Glenayre

Glenayre Technologies Inc. reported a third-quarter net loss of $60.7 million, or $1 per share, compared with a net income of $8.5 million, or 13 cents per share, reported for the third quarter last year. The company attributed much of the loss to one-time charges integral to its ongoing restructuring effort. Net revenue was $53.5 million. Additionally, Glenayre said it sold its Charlotte, N.C., headquarters for $6.3 million to The Keith Corp., a private real estate development firm. Glenayre has entered into a five-year lease agreement to rent 15,000 square feet of the 45,000-square-foot facility from The Keith Corp. to keep its headquarters there.

Teletouch

Paging carrier Teletouch Communications Inc. reported a net loss of $1.3 million, or 31 cents a share, for the first quarter of fiscal 2000, compared with a net loss of $1.4 million, or 35 cents a share, for the corresponding quarter last year. Revenues were $13.4 million, up from $12.2 million reported after the first quarter of fiscal 1999. Average revenue per unit declined from $9.31 last quarter to $9.08.

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