Software company Iona Technologies has announced second quarter revenues of $17.7 million (€14 million) with net income of $1 million which compares to a loss of $2.3 million in the same period last year.

However, following the introduction of new GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) procedures Iona and other US-quoted firms have to account for the cost of share options which means the company has reported a net loss of $0.2 million.

Iona chief executive Peter Zotto dismissed the paper loss and said he was more concerned with the performance of the company at operating level. He said Iona has a "solid quarter marked by steady progress in all aspects of our business".

Zotto expressed particular satisfaction at the growth in revenues for Iona's newer Artix product family which increased 128 per cent year on year and accounted for 23 per cent of total revenues.

Iona delivered a significant upgrade to Artix, version 4.0, during the quarter and were also identified by US analysts Forrester Research as a leader in the enterprise service bus software category.

He also said that revenues from the Asia Pacific region for the older Corba product line offset falling sales in Europe and the US resulting in a 12 per cent annual increase. But in the long term he said revenues from these products would continue to decline.

Zotto said partnering with a variety of other technology companies was essential to selling into the Global 2000 companies that it targets as customers.

During the quarter Iona signed a partnership agreement with significant systems integrator Wipro and also demonstrated Artix support for Microsoft's Windows Communication Foundation.