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To: fedhead who wrote (12825)	7/18/2002 8:39:15 PM
From: Lizzie Tudor	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 57684

come on you must know ctsh. I could be wrong but I thought it was an indian software development house that competes with the likes of infosys. I never could quite figure out how the dollar plays out against these firms, or if they are adr's or what, though. L

To: fedhead who wrote (12825)	7/18/2002 8:39:27 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 57684

EMC Reports Break-Even Second Quarter By Caroline Humer Thursday July 18, 8:23 pm Eastern Time NEW YORK (Reuters) - Data storage company EMC Corp. (NYSE:EMC - News) on Thursday reported a break-even second quarter, saying it sees no change ahead from a year-long trend of cut-rate prices and meager customer spending on storage. EMC was the latest in a slew of technology companies to unveil low expectations for the rest of 2002. Early Thursday, Nokia (NOK1V.HE) lowered the range for its revenue growth and Wednesday International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM - News) reined in expectations for 2002 earnings. "I do not see the IT spending environment improving in 2002. Customers are extremely tight-fisted right now with their dollars and are looking for very quick payback," Chief Executive Joe Tucci said on a conference call. EMC Chief Financial Officer Bill Teuber said he expected EMC to return to profits for the second half of 2002 on the strength of cost cutting. He added he is comfortable with analyst estimates for a loss of 1 cent per share in the third quarter and earnings of 2 cents per share in the fourth quarter. Shares in EMC, which posted a one-cent loss excluding a one-time item, closed off 2.7 percent. Corporations have cut back on spending on information technology as they watch their own profits closely. Demand for storage hardware sky-rocketed during the technology boom of the 1990s and EMC's earnings soared, but the market dried up as customers decided they had enough storage capacity. EMC posted three quarters of losses prior to the second quarter. Facing low growth in hardware, EMC has turned its strategy for growth toward storage software and is working on software that will automatically manage data stored on EMC machines and those of its competitors. "Going forward, EMC's future and stock price appreciation from these levels is really predicated on the execution of new hardware and software products over the next two to three quarters and just a general return to IT spending," said Amy Lubas, an analyst at State Street Research. State Street does not own EMC shares. Tucci told Reuters that the company plans to expand its software business through acquisitions and internal growth so that software accounts for 30 percent of total revenue by the end of 2004. A focus on data storage software is part of the plan to return to profits, he said. EMC said during the call that it would introduce a new product in mid-August, but didn't provide details. The change in strategy, announced last year, comes as the Hopkinton, Massachusetts company faces increased competition from International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM - News), Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ - News), which bought Compaq Computer in the spring, and Hitachi Data Systems (Tokyo:6501.T - News). "Several years ago, EMC had a clear field because they had a clear competitive lead over IBM and Hitachi. Today they have a much more competitive environment with Hitachi and IBM at roughly parity in customers eyes," said Bear Stearns analyst Andrew Neff. BREAK-EVEN INCLUDES GAIN FROM REVERSAL OF CHARGE EMC said that it earned $808,000, or nil cents a share, down from earnings a year ago of $109 million or 5 cents per share. That includes the impact of a $25 million reversal of part of a charge that the company took in the third-quarter of 2001. Teuber said during the call that EMC was able to sell some of the inventory that it had written down as part of that charge. Excluding the gain from that reversal, the company said it posted a loss of $11 million, or 1 cent per share. Analysts expected a loss of 2 cents per share within a range of a one-cent to three-cent loss, according to Thomson First Call. EMC said that revenue fell 31 percent to $1.39 billion from $2.02 billion in the year-earlier period. Analysts expected revenue of $1.38 billion, according to Multex. "Revenues came in very slightly above our expectations. The cost and expense reductions were better than expectations," said Soundview Technology analyst Gary Helmig. EMC said that revenue from storage systems and storage software both fell from a year earlier while revenue from storage services rose. EMC said it believes it gained share in software and hardware during the quarter. Software revenue grew 14 percent from the first quarter but was down 36 percent from a year ago. Software revenue rose as a percentage of overall revenue to 23 percent from 22 percent in the first quarter. A year ago it accounted for 25 percent of revenue. EMC shares closed lower in New York Stock Exchange trade on Thursday at $8.40, off 23 cents, or 2.7 percent, while the American Stock Exchange Computer Hardware Index was off 1.3 percent. EMC shares have fallen 38 percent this year compared with a 29 percent decline in the broader index.