BTG slips in government IT

BTG Inc.'s financial results for its third quarter were lower than expected, courtesy of anticipated federal, state and local information technology business that did not materialize, president and chief executive officer Edward Bersoff said Thursday.

Total revenue for the third quarter, which ended Dec. 31, 2000, was $51.4 million, compared with $59.3 million in the same period last year. The net loss was $1.1 million, compared with a net income of $1.1 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2000.

BTG's third-quarter business plan included increasing revenue from the company's civilian and state and local business units, Bersoff said in a conference call. That business did not develop and, in some cases, was held up by the delayed passage of the government's fiscal 2001 budget, he said.

Bersoff said part of the loss is attributable to the sale of the remainder of BTG's stock holdings in GTSI.

Bersoff also noted that the cost of bidding on government contracts has increased, particularly as the company pursues larger contracts with potentially higher returns. Severance costs for some terminated employees also contributed to the loss, he said.

Despite the company's two-year backlog, it has been unable to produce projected results because of difficulty hiring contract staff to carry out the work, Bersoff said. The company will focus in the future on decreasing operating expenses and on hiring and retaining workers, he said.

"Our record does not speak well to our ability to make projections," Bersoff said. "I think we can deliver predictable and respectable results and we can do it over time.... I don't think there's a better time than now to be in our sector."