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Technology Stocks : Disk Drive Sector Discussion Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Z Analyzer who wrote (7207)	10/12/1999 12:47:00 AM
From: Mark Madden	Respond to of 9256

Z, My data is not good enough to identify manufacturing costs let alone manufacturing efficiencies. I think the manufacturers sell their hot products to the OEM's where they get advanced orders of large shipments. I follow distributors that get left overs. I think the hottest products I see are still in the 4GB/platter range. An exception may be IBM with new products over 30 GB Also, I am not sure the prices I see have much relation to manufacturing costs. New high capacity, fast drives seem to command high prices when they first come out. The prices drop fast as competition enters the scene. Near the end of their product life they may sell below cost to clear out inventories. The company margins are likely average margins of many sizes of drives in different stages of their product life. There are a few drives that keep the same price for months near the end of their product life. Perhaps these drives are selling near their manufacturing cost with small margins. You raise some very interesting questions but I think my data is just too weak to help. I am collecting a lot more data today than I was a year ago so maybe I can put something together in the future. Regards, Mark M.

To: Z Analyzer who wrote (7207)	10/12/1999 9:34:00 AM
From: Mark Oliver	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 9256

So, is all well in Tape Land? Looks like DSS had a strong come back following the news component supplier HiFN was not going to get the orders everyone expected. So, DSS has some order problems. Is it y2k? Looks like Exabyte, while no stellar peformer has not experience similar problems. So, what gives? Anyway, M2 looks like it's on track? Is DSS in trouble? Stay tuned. Regards, Mark Exabyte reports a hefty loss By Tiffany Kary ZDII Exabyte Corp. (Nasdaq: EXBT) shares are already gnawed down to 4 3/4, but there is one small glimmer of hope -- the company on Tuesday reported a smaller than expected loss without a restructuring charge. The maker of network backup systems said Tuesday its third quarter loss was $17.5 million, or 78 cents a share, which does not compare favorably with a positive but meager net income of $338,000 or 2 cents a share for last year's third quarter. Exabyte said the results included a $2.5 million, or 11 cents a share, restructuring charge. The First Call estimate called for a loss of 69 cents a share. Backing out the restructuring charge, Exabyte beat estimates by two cents. Exabyte reported revenue for the quarter ended October 2 of $53 million, down from the $72.8 million in the comparable period in 1998. This isn't the first time Exabyte reported a poor quarter. The company reported worse-than-expected net loss for the second quarter ended July 3. Exabyte put an upside spin on its losses, saying that despite the one-time charge of $2.4 million for severance costs, benefits extensions and outplacement services, the company should see annual savings of $11 million as a result of the actions taken in late August. "Revenues reversed a downward trend that we had experienced the past four quarters and were in line with our expectations," said Bill Marriner, Exabyte's chairman, president and chief executive officer in a company release. "The order rate was stronger throughout the quarter, and we were able to grow the backlog modestly for the fourth quarter." The company said it remains focused on four goals: to recapture leadership in the midrange tape market with the launch of its Mammoth-2 tape drive in the fourth quarter; to provide the best automated tape libraries in the industry; to become a leader in the emerging network storage market; and to attract and develop a strong network of OEM and reseller partners. zdii.com