But, EBITDAS (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and stock compensation expense) amounted to a positive $227,000, adds Bsquare.
According to Bsquare, its total revenue for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 was $16.7 million, down two percent from the
$17.1 million received during Q1 2008. The falling revenue was attributed primarily to a $2.8 million decline in third party software sales -- Bsquare
distributes Adobe's Flash Lite, for example, as well as
Solidcore's S3 Control Embedded software.
Meanwhile, Bsquare's revenue from proprietary software, such as its
SDIO stack and reference designs, was $961,000 for the quarter compared to $863,000 in the prior year, representing an increase of 11 percent. Service revenue, at $8.4 million, was up by 38 percent year-over-year, driven by "strong growth in North America." Working with Ford to provide services related to the automaker's Windows CE-based
Sync automotive technology brought in $5.2 million in new service revenue, adds Bsquare.
As Bsquare noted in its financial report, it is collaborating with Texas Instruments (TI) to
create a Windows Mobile 6.5 BSP (board support package) for the chipmaker's ARM Cortex A8-based
OMAP35x family of processors. Last year, Bquare announced a
3G Wireless Dev Kit -- including a Sierra Wireless MC5727 embedded radio module certified for EV-DO Revision A networks, plus pre-integrated Windows CE 6 radio interface layer (RIL) software -- designed to work with the
OMAP3530 and an
EVM (evaluation module) produced for TI by Mistral Solutions.
During the quarter, Bsquare was also
selected by Microsoft as a Microsoft Auto training partner. Bsquare says it is now developing multiple levels of training courses for automakers, automotive suppliers and a growing channel of partners developing in-car technology.
Bsquare says one factor contributing to the net loss during the quarter was the acquisition of TestQuest, a provider of automated testing tools, in November 2008 for approximately $2.2 million in cash. During the quarter, Bsquare reports, it received $277,000 in TestQuest product revenue, and launched the TestQuest Collaboration Server. The server product is touted as enabling mobile application developers, silicon vendors and device manufacturers to develop and deploy test automation across multiple geographies.
Brian Crowley, Bsquare's CEO, said, "I am pleased that we were able to generate cash and produce positive EBITDAS this quarter, despite the sequential drop in third-party software sales and overall poor economic conditions. We were able to increase our service and proprietary software revenue sequentially, and ... we believe [our] investments will pay off handsomely for Bsquare and our shareholders in the future."
Working on an Android netbook?Wednesday, as our sister site
LinuxDevices.com has reported, Bsquare
issued a press release saying that it is working with Dell to port Adobe's Flash Lite onto upcoming netbooks that will run Google's Linux-based operating system. "Integrating Adobe Flash technology with the functionality of Googles Android platform will afford consumers the rich content and unprecedented applications they demand and is key to achieving success for our OEM and ODM customers," Crowley was reportedly quoted as saying.
Offered with both Windows and Ubuntu Linux, Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 also runs Apple's OS X, as shown
(click to enlarge)Bsquare, whose PR is said to have specifically mentioned Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 (above), appears to have jumped the gun, since the release was later withdrawn, and both Dell and Bsquare have declined to comment further. However, Dell netbooks are already offered with both Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux, and the versatile Mini 9 is also a popular vehicle for installation of Apple's OS X operating system, as pictured.
Further informationFurther information about Bsquare's first-quarter earnings, including a replay of a conference call for investors, is available from the company's website,
here.
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