Palm Reports Profit for Fiscal Third Quarter

Palm Inc., the biggest maker of hand-held computers, had a fiscal third-quarter profit as it cut costs in response to a 38% sales drop.

Net income was $2.95million, or 1 cent a share, in the period ended March 1, contrasted with a loss of $1.94million, or break-even on a per-share basis, in the year-earlier period. Sales fell to $292.7million, better than the $250million to $260million the company forecast in December.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company shipped 1.3 million computers in the quarter, down 38% from a year earlier. Palm shares rose 19 cents to $3.17 in regular trading on Nasdaq. They climbed as high as $3.30 after the earnings report was released.