'Room for improvement' for CA as revenue slides

Vendor's profits and revenue both slump five per cent in its FY13 Q3

CA Technologies has admitted that it needs to do more to gain market share following a five per cent drop in its third-quarter revenue, despite beating Wall Street expectations.

For the three months to 31 December, CA saw its GAAP net profits slump five per cent year on year on revenue that also dropped five per cent to $1.2bn (£76m). Wall Street revenue expectations for the vendor stood at $1.17bn for the same period.

CA claims the revenue drop was partly down to a single licence settlement in the same period last year which left a $39m hole in this year's figure.

Newly appointed chief executive Mike Gregoire, who replaced Bill McCraken in December, said there was room for improvement in the coming months.

"We know that we need to do more to accelerate innovation, gain market share and better differentiate our solutions in the marketplace," he added.

"We also know there is room for improvement in our cost of sales and in the speed and intensity with which we pursue our objectives. Over the next few months we will perform a detailed diagnostic of where we are, and lay out a plan on how to achieve our strategic and financial goals."

He claimed the vendor's distribution strategy was a key focus for its growth trajectory.

"To get all that technology to market, CA has a global distribution network that is difficult to replicate and I believe can be a big differentiator for the company," he added.

"CA has relationships with the largest companies in the world. With the right focus on innovation and new markets, we can really increase our growth trajectory in our Enterprise Solutions business."