Silicon Graphics Loses Less Than Expected

Silicon Graphics Inc.’s fiscal first-quarter loss from operations was less than expected as the No. 5 maker of computer workstations cut costs to cope with falling revenue. For the three months ended Sept. 30, SGI reported a loss of $77 million, or 41 cents a share, compared with a loss of $56 million, or 31 cents a share, a year ago. Sales fell 20% to $616 million from $768 million a year ago. Analysts had expected a loss of 45 cents a share, according to the average estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by First Call Corp. Chief Executive Richard Belluzzo, who took the helm of the Mountain View-based firm in January, is trying to turn around the struggling maker of powerful graphics computers that are used to make movies and design airplanes. SGI has been hammered by computers that use powerful Intel Corp. chips and Microsoft Corp.’s NT software, which cost as little as $3,000, compared to the $20,000 and up for computers that SGI sells.