Sun posts profit on job cuts, demand

Sun Microsystems Inc. posted a second straight quarterly profit on job cuts and demand for services. Sales fell short of analysts’ estimates, sending the shares lower.

Third-quarter net income was $67 million, or 2 cents a share, compared with a loss of $217 million, or 6 cents, a year earlier, Santa Clara, Calif.-based Sun said. Revenue rose 3.3% to $3.28 billion, below the $3.41-billion average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Jonathan Schwartz, celebrating his one-year anniversary as chief executive Tuesday, is working to deliver Sun’s first annual profit since 2001 later this year. He updated storage devices and servers, which are computers used to run websites and corporate networks, and cut prices to win customers from rivals including Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc.

Sun had profit excluding some items of 1 cent a share in the period that ended April 1, matching the average estimate of analysts.

Sun shares fell more than 7% to $5.51 in extended trading after the earnings news. Earlier, they had closed up 2 cents at $5.94.