AAPL ( $26-->$22.50) 3Q Net Slumps 70%, Issues Cautious Outlook
CUPERTINO, Calif. (Dow Jones)--Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) posted a 70%
plunge in its fiscal third-quarter net income, as revenue fell 19%.
For the quarter ended June 30, the computer maker reported net income of $61
million, or 17 cents a diluted share, compared with $200 million, or 55
cents a share, a year earlier. The mean estimate of analysts surveyed by
Thomson Financial/First Call was for earnings of 15 cents a share.
The latest quarter's results included a $7 million gain from equity
investments, which was offset by $7 million in acquisition-related expenses.
Revenue fell to $1.48 billion from $1.83 billion. Analysts were expecting
sales of $1.57 billion.
Gross profit margin was 29.4%, compared with 29.8% a year earlier, and
international sales accounted for 44% of revenue. During the third quarter,
Apple shipped 827,000 Macintosh units and shipped over 182,000 iBook units.
The company is targeting a "slight sequential increase" in revenue and
per-share earnings in the fiscal fourth quarter from the third quarter. The
Thomson Financial/First Call estimate was for fourth-quarter earnings of 24
cents a share. Year-earlier earnings from operations were $108 million, or
30 cents a share, on sales of $1.87 billion.
The company, which currently has over $4.2 billion in cash, launched its
first two Apple Retail Stores in the quarter and plans to open 23 more in
the remainder of the year.
In early July, Apple indefinitely suspended production of its Power Mac G4
Cube as a result of lower-than-expected sales. The desktop computer, named
for its shape, was a departure from traditionally designed boxes, but never
caught on in the marketplace.
Apple's third-quarter results follow a strong second quarter, when the
computer maker blew past analyst expectations for profit and sales, which
proved to be a major upside surprise for the ailing personal-computer
market.
After a $247 million loss in the first quarter ended Dec. 31, its first loss
in 12 quarters, the computer maker had vowed to return to profitability.
Apple more than lived up to its word in these subsequent quarters, driven in
part by strong demand for its new laptop computer.
Apple posted second-quarter earnings of $43 million, or 12 cents a diluted
share, on sales of about $1.43 billion. Excluding items, the company earned
11 cents a diluted share, far exceeding the 1-cent consensus of analysts
polled by Thomson Financial/First Call.
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 07-17-01
06:12 PM
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