Sun Microsystems said its profit rose 40%...

Sun Microsystems said its profit rose 40% in the third-quarter, but earnings were hurt by a shortage of memory chips that kept the computer company from filling some orders. Sun, which makes computer workstations used by engineers and industrial designers, reported earnings of $14.3 million on sales of $259.7 million, compared to $10.19 million on sales of $141.7 million in the year-ago period. The firm said its performance was due to “rapidly rising memory chip prices acting in concert with the shortages to result in slightly lower profit margins than we had planned.”