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Technology Stocks : INVX Innovex Comdex Winner !! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kurthend who wrote (1845)	12/11/1997 6:56:00 AM
From: Mark Oliver	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3029

Quantum Earnings for Third Fiscal Quarter to be Lower Than Prior Quarter MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 10, 1997--Quantum Corporation (NMS:QNTM) today stated that its third quarter earnings will be below what the company achieved in the prior quarter. The company expects to report earnings per share fully diluted in the range of 25(cent) to 35(cent) for the quarter, excluding previously announced special charges. The decline in earnings relative to the prior quarter is driven in part by the continued aggressive pricing in the distribution channel for desktop hard disk drives. Although unit shipments of hard disk drives will likely be up from the prior quarter, revenue could be relatively flat with the $1.5 billion reported in the September quarter. In addition, as a result of some transition issues in the DLTtape(tm) systems business, revenue and contributions to earnings will be relatively flat with the September quarter. As the company has stated recently, the aggressive pricing for desktop hard drives that has been referenced by others in the storage industry added significant risk to the company's quarter. ''Now one week into the final month of the quarter, it is clear that the significant negative impact of the continued intense pricing pressures in the distribution channel will outweigh any positive impact of improved channel or product mix in terms of our overall results,'' said Michael Brown, Quantum's chief executive officer. ''To avoid contributing to the over-supply of drives in the distribution channel, we reduced our build plan, but we still expect to have record unit shipments based on the strength of our OEM shipments to date. OEM demand for our desktop products remains strong, we have a strong product portfolio, and we are pleased with the ramps of our new desktop products.'' Both the Fireball(tm) SE (2.1 GB/platter) and the Bigfoot(tm) TX (4 GB/platter 5 1/4-inch) drives are qualified and shipping to major OEMs. ''In terms of the DLTtape systems business, tape drive demand remains strong, we continue to successfully ramp the DLT(tm) 7000, and we continue to exceed our model for profitability,'' Brown said. ''However, revenue from DLTtape systems as well as the resulting contribution to Quantum's earnings could be relatively flat with last quarter as a result of two transitional issues. First, as customers transition from our older DLTtape products to the DLT 7000, we are seeing a decrease in shipments of older products offset by the continued strength of the DLT 7000. Second, media sales have been relatively soft as customers adjust to the cartridge requirements of the DLT 7000 which has greater capacity per cartridge. These types of transition issues are difficult to anticipate in terms of timing, but are typical of product transitions of the magnitude we are executing with the DLT 7000. We expect both of these transition issues to ease as we enter our next quarter.'' The company's expectations regarding results for the third fiscal quarter are forward looking statements and actual results could vary. Actual results could be impacted by accounting adjustments made during the closing of the quarter, the roll up of actual results for the quarter from the company's business units, the actual operating results obtained, and the market environment for the balance of the quarter. Founded in 1980, Quantum Corporation is the only storage company that has developed leadership positions in both fixed and removable storage products. One of the highest volume global suppliers of hard disk drives and the leader in the mid-range tape market, Quantum is widely recognized as the industry's quality leader. The company sells a broad range of storage products to OEM and distribution customers worldwide. Quantum's sales for the fiscal year ending March 1997 were $5.3 billion. The company's world wide web home address is quantum.com.

To: Kurthend who wrote (1845)	12/11/1997 6:59:00 AM
From: Mark Oliver	Respond to of 3029

Quantum sees hard drive units flat in Q4 PALO ALTO, Dec. 10 (Reuters) - Quantum Corp chief executive Michael Brown told Wall Street analysts on a conference call that the company is looking for unit sales of hard disk drives to be flat in the March quarter. ''Units will be relatively flat versus record units in December,'' Brown told analysts, after announcing that Quantum's third quarter earnings would be below earnings in the second quarter, due to aggressive pricing. Brown also said Quantum expects to see a richer product mix going forward, which will eventually help profit margins. ''In terms of determining all of that for all of Quantum, that will depend on the growth of the DLT business,'' Brown said, referring to the company's DLT tape business, which is in a product transition to a new product, the DLT 7000. Brown said that aggressive pricing of hard disk drives in the desktop sector by the distribution channel is one major contributor to its earnings shortfall, but its product transition to the DLT 7000 was also a factor. ''This is the first time we have not been at our target model for the last six quarters,'' Brown said. ''The last time time it was an imbalance of supply and demand ... the industry corrected itself in one quarter. I think this situation is more severe than that time. It is a recognition that demand is not as robust.'' Brown said that Quantum plans to cut back on its production of hard drives by about 10 percent and said that actions by other industry leaders will also help. -- POSSIBLE LOST DATA -- \000 Brown also said that Quantum is seeing the biggest area of oversupply in two gigabyte and three gigabyte disk drives. He also said that the company's high-end disk drive business will not be profitable in the third quarter. ''We don't expect that situation to change until we get into a new generation products that will contribute to earnings,'' Brown said. New products will begin to ship at the March quarter and will have a significant contribution in the June quarter, he said.

To: Kurthend who wrote (1845)	12/11/1997 7:06:00 AM
From: Mark Oliver	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3029

I suppose if you look at the bright side, they seem to be cutting back on drives that would make the least profit for INVX. It appears like the higher end desk top and enterprise drives are in greatest demand. That being said, it still looks pretty shitty. And appearances are all that matter. On the other hand, the fact that there are more players competing for the same market share would mean that a lot of drives are going to be made despite Quantum's efforts. They are cutting back due to increases from the likes of Fujitsu, Samsung, NEC and others. Regards, Mark PS Thai baht fell again today. Each time it falls, INVX has lower cost of production.