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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: StanX Long who wrote (61708)	3/8/2002 12:31:00 AM
From: StanX Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Sun Micro Expects 3rd-Qtr Sales to Be Above $3.11 Bln (Update4) By Dan Goodin quote.bloomberg.com Palo Alto, California, March 7 (Bloomberg) -- Sun Microsystems Inc., whose server computers run corporate networks and Web sites, reiterated forecasts that fiscal third-quarter revenue will rise ``slightly'' from last quarter's $3.11 billion. Chief Financial Officer Mike Lehman said Sun expects to have fourth-quarter profit before some costs. Sun, which has lost money for three straight periods, didn't comment on profit in the current quarter. Sun said it expects a ``modest'' improvement in gross margin, the percentage of sales left after subtracting production costs. The shares rose as much as 4.5 percent on the news. ``I was encouraged and relieved'' to hear that gross margins would widen, said Mike Cohen, manager of Alpha Analytics Digital Future Fund, which holds Sun shares. ``The fact that it's happening is very encouraging, especially in light of it being a tough pricing environment.'' The company's shares fell 60 percent in the past year as corporate customers in financial services, telecommunications and Internet commerce have gone out of business or reduced spending. Sun's sales in the fiscal year ending in June are forecast to fall 30 percent to $12.8 billion from $18.3 billion in 2001.