A restructuring charge associated with its takeover of Irish company SmartForce contributed to a $12.6 million (€10.6 million) net loss for its first quarter at e-learning software provider SkillSoft.

The US company earned revenues of $43.6 million in the three months to April 30th last, an increase of almost $30 million on the same quarter last year, when the company posted sales of $13.8 million.

The accounts show that the company's operating expenses increased by over $40 million from $13.1 million to $54.5 million. Restructuring and other one-off costs contributed $6.5 million to this figure.

It made a net loss for the quarter of $12.6 million, or $0.13 per diluted share compared with a pre-tax profit of $282,000, or $0.02 per diluted share in the same period last year.

In a statement, SkillSoft said that its net loss included a restructuring charge of $1.2 million "in connection with the pending restatement of the historical SmartForce financial statements of $5.4 million" and a further $2.2 million for settling litigation.

The company statement predicted that full-year sales would be at the higher end of its $185 million to $190 million prediction. Chief executive Mr Chuck Moran said the results were better than anticipated.