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Technology Stocks : Dell Technologies Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (172433)	2/15/2003 1:10:11 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

Dell CEO Sees 'Wonderful Opportunities' Despite Economy URL:http://www.smartmoney.com/news/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20030213-001114-1823 February 13, 2003 6:23 PM By Bob Sechler Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES AUSTIN, Texas (Dow Jones)--Dell Computer Corp. (DELL) executives made clear Thursday that they don't expect near-term improvement in the economy, but they also vowed that soft demand won't be used "as an excuse for poor results" at their company. "Our job is to manage our business regardless of the environment we find ourselves in," Chief Executive Michael Dell said during a conference call with reporters. "We see wonderful opportunities to continue to grow our business." The company forecast earnings for their fiscal first quarter ending May 3 at 23 cents a share, in line with Wall Street expectations, compared with earnings of 17 cents a share in the year-ago period. Dell executives said first-quarter revenue will climb about 18%, to $9.5 billion from $8.07 billion in the year-ago period. Meanwhile, CEO Dell declined to comment extensively on the potential impact of a war with Iraq on his company's business. "We haven't heard a lot of customers saying they're going to or not going to do something specifically related to" potential military action, he said. Earlier Thursday, Dell Computer reported fourth-quarter net income of 23 cents a share, or $603 million, compared with net income of 17 cents a share, or $456 million, in the year-ago period. Revenue climbed about 21%, to $9.73 billion from $8.06 billion a year ago. Both the revenue and earnings figures were in line with Wall Street expectations, according to Thomson First Call. Shares of Dell Computer climbed in late trading after the company's earnings release. The shares recently were trading up 2%, or 47 cents, at $23.72, according to Island ECN. The stock closed Thursday's regular session up about 1% at $23.25. Dell Computer said its average unit selling price - a closely watched industry barometer - came in at $1,640 in the fourth quarter, off from $1,700 in the year-ago period and from $1,710 in the third quarter. Dell officials attributed the decline to strong gains in consumer sales and the fact that the consumer market is seasonally strong in the fourth quarter. The company's U.S. consumer shipments climbed 38% in the fourth quarter compared to the year-ago period. In addition, the company said its fourth-quarter gross margin inched upward even as its average selling price declined. Dell's gross margin came in at 18.3% in the fourth quarter, essentially flat with 18.2% in the third quarter but up from 17.6% in the year-ago period. Overall, Dell officials boasted that their results continue to significantly outpace the industry, with total unit shipments up 25% in the fourth quarter from the year-ago period. They said they expect total unit shipments to be up about 25% again in the first quarter, compared with an anticipated "low single-digit" growth rate for the industry as a whole. "Our objective is to grow faster than the market, and we believe we can do that," CEO Dell said later on a conference call with analysts. The company said its sales of high-margin enterprise systems also did well in the fourth quarter, with revenue from enterprise systems up 28% overall. Meanwhile, CEO Dell declined to forecast the timing for a widespread rebound in technology spending. He said a significant uptick in corporate profits will be "the leading indicator" for such a rebound. The CEO also told analysts that demand has been strong for the Dell-branded handheld computers that the company recently introduced, and he said the company will introduce its Dell-branded line of printers soon. -By Bob Sechler; Dow Jones Newswires; 512-236-9637 (END) Dow Jones Newswires 02-13-03 1823ET

To: calgal who wrote (172433)	2/15/2003 4:46:45 PM
From: kemble s. matter	Respond to of 176387

Leigh, Hi!! Thanks Leigh...Thanks...Good day yesterday after the earnings...Anybody heard from Dan Niles yesterday? RE: "Going into the earnings release, there was some heightened concern, because it's a seasonally weak quarter, there is geopolitical uncertainty and HP is trying to gain more market share," said Bob Rezaee, a portfolio manager with San Francisco-based Montgomery Asset Management, which owns Dell shares. Bob...The key word there is "trying"... RE: Their business model is so much superior to its competitors' that Dell just continues to grind away and commoditize all aspects of technology," Rezaee said. Yes Bob...That's why you own DELL... :o) Amazingly Bob...There are some funds that don't! Best, Kemble