GEMSTAR DIP PROMPTS CONFERENCE.

Byline: Jesse Hiestand Staff Writer

Refusing to reveal the full extent of its quarterly losses this week has cost interactive software maker Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. about 15 percent of its value, prompting managers to hastily schedule a conference call today with nervous investors.

The Pasadena-based distributor of program guide software did not release per-share earnings in its quarterly report Monday - an unusual move by any company - because of the large write-off from the $15 billion purchase of TV Guide in July.

Making matters worse, an analyst downgraded the stock because Gemstar's business may not be developing as fast as previously thought.

Together, the two developments led the stock to lose $10 per share Tuesday, closing down about 18 percent to $44.69 on the NASDAQ.

Shares rebounded somewhat Wednesday, climbing $1.46 to $46.16, but the analyst who issued the downgrade said investors remain uneasy about Gemstar's actions and direction.

``I think it was a bit of an overreaction but the street has a concern about where they're at and where they're going,'' said CIBC World Markets Corp. analyst John Corcoran, noting that weakness in the tech sector already had investors worried. ``This was a quarter in which investors wanted a lot of handholding, a lot of comforting.''

Press officers and lawyers for Gemstar did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday.

The company filed its full quarterly earnings report with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, as it had pledged.

SEC spokesman John Heine said his agency has no control over what information companies release or withhold about their earnings. The only thing that concerns the SEC is whether the report is filed within 45 days of the end of the quarter, which in this case was Sept. 30.

Gemstar reported a second-quarter fiscal loss of $115.8 million, or 30 cents a share, compared to net income of $16.4 million, or 7 cents per share, in the same period a year before.

The quarterly losses and subsequent stock drop come as revenue, boosted by the acquisition of TV Guide, rose to $309.8 million from $48.3 million in the second quarter of 1999.

Corcoran said he did not believe Gemstar officials were trying to hide anything by releasing only partial earnings information Monday.

``In retrospect, I'm sure they would have done things differently,'' he said. ``They were scrambling to finish what they needed to do to get the (SEC report) done up against a deadline. It was kind of like the student who crams and gets the studying done just before the test.''