Informix Shares Plummet 37%

Informix Corp., which makes software for managing business databases, warned that second-quarter earnings and sales fell, sending its shares down 37%, their biggest drop ever. Informix said it will report net income of 1 cent to 3 cents a share, missing the 12-cent average estimate of six analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial. It earned 6 cents a year earlier. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company estimated sales fell to $240 million to $250 million from $250.6 million a year earlier, after six consecutive quarters of growth. It was hurt by competition from Oracle Corp., Sybase Inc., Microsoft Corp. and IBM Corp.; by slow implementation of a plan to sell more Internet-retailing software; and by the declining euro. Informix’s shares have fallen 78% since their 52-week high of $21.25 on April 10. They fell $2.75 to close at $4.69 on Nasdaq after reaching $4.53, a 52-week low during an abbreviated market session. Informix’s market value has dropped $4.7 billion, to $1.3 billion, since the shares reached their April high.