Apple profits up, shares dip on outlook

[Francisco Monjardino]

Apple profits up, shares dip on outlook

Strong sales of iPods, Mac mini increase profit sixfold, but stock falls in after-hours trade.

April 13, 2005: 6:29 PM EDT
 
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Computer Inc.'s quarterly profit blew past the most optimistic Wall Street expectations, powered by strong sales, but its revenue forecast for the current quarter was below the more optimistic expectations and the stock fell.

Profit rose more than sixfold on sales of its iPod digital music players, the Mac mini personal computer and new PowerBook notebook PCs.

Shares of Apple (Research) initially rose in after-hours trade, but then fell 1.44 percent as the company's revenue forecast for the current quarter was largely in line with Wall Street expectations rather than exceeding them.

"The third-quarter EPS guidance was better than the Street. but the revenue was slightly below some on the Street," said Sushil Wagle, senior vice president of J&W Seligman, which owns Apple shares.

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, said on Wednesday that net income for its fiscal second quarter ended March 26 rose to $290 million, or 34 cents per share, from $46 million, or 6 cents per share, on a split-adjusted basis.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 24 cents a share, within a range of 21 cents to 30 cents, on revenue of $3.19 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue surged 70 percent to $3.24 billion from $1.91 billion.

IPods accounted for 31 percent, or $1.01 billion, of Apple's quarterly revenue, the company said. The company shipped 5.31 million iPods and 1.07 million Macintosh computers during the quarter.

The company shipped 1.07 million Macintosh computers during the quarter. IMacs accounted for 467,000 of the Macs sold, Apple's Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said in an interview, but he declined to break out specific shipments of Mac minis.

"Not only are Mac customers buying it, but Windows customers are as well," Oppenheimer said, referring to the Mac mini. Apple had hoped the Mac mini would appeal to Windows computer users who also use the iPod.

Revenue at Apple's 103 retail stores rose 2 percent to $571 million from the holiday-sales-fueled quarter ending in December, Oppenheimer said, noting that it was a record March quarter for the entire company.

For the current third quarter, Apple forecast a profit of about 28 cents a share on revenue of $3.25 billion.

Analysts currently expect an average profit of 24 cents, within a range of 20 cents to 32 cents, on revenue of $3.21 billion.

"I think once investors get a chance to digest (the earnings report and forecast), tomorrow will be a positive day for Apple," said Jim Fisher, portfolio manager at Univest Wealth Management & Trust. "Its second quarter is traditionally its toughest quarter, and these numbers are good."

Shares of Apple fell $1.62, or 3.8 percent, to close at $41.04 in regular trading on Nasdaq. In after-hours trade on the Inet electronic brokerage, the stock rose to $41.52 and then dipped to $40.20. Apple shares have risen more than 30 percent so far this year, after tripling in 2004.

[Ertai]

Já agora deixo também os dados dos Earnings de outra empresa importante que foram revelados hoje.

AMD subia 3% no After..

AMD Reports First Quarter Results; Record Quarterly Microprocessor Sales and Operating Income

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 2005--AMD (NYSE:AMD) today reported sales of $1.227 billion and an operating loss of $46 million for the quarter ended March 27, 2005. The first quarter net loss of $17 million amounted to $0.04 per share.

First quarter sales decreased one percent compared to the first quarter of 2004 and decreased three percent from the fourth quarter of 2004. In the first quarter of 2004, AMD reported sales of $1.236 billion and net income of $45 million, or $0.12 per diluted share. In the fourth quarter of 2004, AMD reported sales of $1.264 billion and a net loss of $30 million, or $0.08 per share.

"Our microprocessor business delivered record sales in what is typically a seasonally down quarter, driven by increased sales across all product categories," said Robert J. Rivet, AMD's chief financial officer. "We continued to gain momentum with year-over-year sales growth of 31 percent, highlighted by AMD Opteron(TM) and AMD Athlon(TM) 64 processor sales, each of which more than doubled from a year ago.

"The NOR Flash memory market continued to experience industry-wide oversupply and strong pricing pressure. We experienced a rise in unit shipments, but our average selling price (ASP) declined significantly, resulting in weaker than expected sales."

[Francisco Monjardino]

Obrigado pelo complemento!

Essa já me estava a escapar.