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Technology Stocks : Compaq -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: William Hunt who wrote (24420)	4/15/1998 1:34:00 PM
From: William Hunt	Respond to of 97611

THREAD ---General information --Dow Jones Newswires -- April 15, 1998 Compaq CFO: '98 PC Growth View Of 15%-20% 'Probably Right' By Christopher Grimes NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Compaq Computer Corp.'s (CPQ) finance chief, Earl Mason, said the company expects to complete its merger with Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC) in the second quarter or shortly thereafter. In an interview with Dow Jones, Mason said he couldn't make any forecasts about the company's business in the second half of 1998 - typically a strong time for PC makers - until after the Digital deal is completed. The deal needs approval from the Securities & Exchange Commission and Compaq shareholders before completion. He did say he thinks the PC industry will likely grow between 15% and 20% in 1998. The company reported its first-quarter earnings Wednesday before the stock market opened in New York. Compaq met Wall Street forecasts of 1 cent a share. In March, Compaq announced that it wouldn't meet Wall Street forecasts because of flat sales and bloated inventories. Mason said Compaq's profit margins declined as a result of "aggressive pricing and promotion." Those moves were taken in order to stimulate sales, which weren't meeting forecasts. He said more aggressive price cuts are likely. In its earnings release, the company said it would take "another period of adjustment to put (its) business on a track of improved profitability." Mason said he hopes for that period of adjustment to end with the second quarter. The company is restructuring the way it builds and distributes its computers, and Mason said that's "part of the reason for this adjustment." One of the Compaq's key challenges has been reducing the amount of time its computers stay in inventory. Finance chief Mason said Compaq was able to turn its inventory over 15 times in the first quarter, four better than the 11 turns in the same period a year ago. Mason wouldn't make forecasts about how many inventory turns he'd like to see. "We're on our way to improving that further," he said. Despite the rough first quarter and a likely rough second quarter, Mason said the mood at Compaq's Houston headquarters is optimistic. "From the operating point of view, the mood here is can-do," Mason said. "We have a group of people with a real desire to be real competitive, That's important in the impending integration of Digital. We're up to that task." -Christopher Grimes; 201-938-5253 BEST WISHES BILL

To: William Hunt who wrote (24420)	4/15/1998 1:36:00 PM
From: William Hunt	Respond to of 97611

THREAD --- ODM TO BEGIN TODAY - FINALLY !Dow Jones Newswires -- April 15, 1998 Compaq Computer Redesigns DeskPro Family HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) redesigned its Deskpro family and unveiled its Deskpro EN and Deskpro EP series. Also, the personal computer maker unveiled the Presario 4880, which featuers a Pentium II processor 400 MHz, and will incorporate the new Intel Corp. (INTC) Celeron processor in future Presario models, to be made available in early summer. In press releases Wednesday, the company said the Deskpro series were redesigned to maximize a distribution model that includes lowering costs by building and configuring products to specific reseller and customer orders. The Deskpro EP series is available in April and has an estimated starting price of $899. The Deskpro EN series will be available in May in North America, with a starting price of $1,349. The Presario 4880 will start at $2,599, without monitor. Compaq said the Presario 4880 is its fastest home computer ever. The product includes a new 100MHz bus that is 53% faster than earlier models, allowing faster communication between the processor and other parts of the computer system. BEST WISHES BILL

To: William Hunt who wrote (24420)	4/15/1998 2:39:00 PM
From: Yaacov	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

Bill, I don't waste my time to be an observer! I am in CPQ! These analysts believe that CPQ needs time to digest DEC and clear the iventroy!(6 months at least!) They know that CPQ is managed by professionals and led by very agressive leadership! The leadership adressing the problem and fast! These analysts think once the problem is resolved, CPQ will deleiver! Here in Europe the 1000 dollar PC's are not available, and when they are, tehy will sell for 2500!! (This is a great market for the high-end PC!) Today the CPQ is no. 1 PC seller in Europe, way above IBM, and HWP! Dell, (I have not yet seen arround, yet!) These are some of the comments they have made! Thanks yaacov