Sun Microsystems Profit Down 12%
Sun Microsystems Inc., the maker of the popular Java software language, said Thursday that its fiscal first-quarter profit fell 12% as it took charges in connection with acquisitions and had less revenue than expected.
The results, excluding the charges, slightly lagged analysts’ predictions. The company felt the effects of the strong dollar in overseas markets and had less demand than expected during the last part of the quarter.
Sun, also a leading maker of powerful computers for business, earned $108.4 million, or 27 cents a share, compared with $123.4 million, or 32 cents a share, for the same period last year.
Revenue rose 13% to $2.01 billion from $1.86 billion.
The earnings included $52.2 million in connection with Sun’s acquisitions of Diba Inc. and Integrity Arts Inc. and a charge of $19.9 million to boost its tax provision. Without the special items, Sun earned $163.2 million, or 41 cents a share.
Analysts had forecast average earnings of 44 cents a share.
Mountain View, Calif.-based Sun released the results after the stock markets closed. Its shares finished the day at $42.31, down $3.31 on Nasdaq. In after-hours trading, Sun shares slid further, to $39.
The company, like many others in the computer industry, has seen its revenue limited overseas by the strong U.S. dollar, which makes products costlier for foreign buyers.
But Sun also didn’t get as many orders and shipments as anticipated during the last six to eight weeks of the quarter, Chief Financial Officer Michael Lehman said.
At a Glance:
Compaq Computer Corp. said third-quarter earnings surged 54% on solid sales growth and wider profit margins, as it announced another stock split and that it will pay the first cash dividend in its history. Compaq’s profit, before a charge, rose to $561.7 million, or 71 cents a share, from $365 million, or 48 cents, in the year-earlier period.
Digital Equipment Corp. reported a $25-million profit for the latest quarter, reversing last year’s loss with help from stronger sales. Net earnings for the quarter, the first in Digital’s fiscal year, worked out to 11 cents a share, a penny higher than projections. It lost $66 million, or 48 cents, in the year-ago quarter.
Seagate Technology Inc. reported a fiscal first-quarter loss, including a charge, of $240 million, or 98 cents a share, contrasted with a profit of $129 million, or 53 cents, a year ago.
Sybase Inc. reported surprisingly strong third-quarter earnings of $5.22 million, or 7 cents a share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30, contrasted with a loss of $52.6 million, or 69 cents, in the year-ago quarter.
