We are VERY HEALTHY.
Fez
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Monday September 13 4:30 AM ET
Dell Expects 'Very Healthy' Second Half
PARIS (Reuters) - Dell Computer Corp. (Nasdaq:DELL - news) Chief Executive Michael Dell Monday forecast a ``very healthy' second half of the year, shrugging off any potential negative effects from Y2K.
``Our costs are about half that of our competitors, so we have a structural advantage,' Dell told Reuters in an interview. ``And the Internet is accelerating our (market) share gains.'
Dell is the world's second largest maker of personal computers and the leader in selling computers over the Internet to home and business users. It now gets about $30 million in sales per day, or about 40 percent of its total, from online buyers.
Last month Dell said he expected the percentage of online sales to climb to 60 percent to 70 percent ``in the not too distant future.'
The Austin, Texas, company is not seeing a disruption in sales as companies race to prepare for the millennium bug. ``As you get closer and closer, there seems to be more and more companies that are comfortable or at least prepared for it,' Dell said.
``I think the second half is going to be very healthy for us,' he said.
In the second quarter, Dell beat expectations, reporting worldwide sales rose 42 percent to $6.1 billion in the second quarter ended on July 30. Earnings jumped 58 percent to 19 cents per share, beating the consensus estimate by two cents. |
