Sun Microsystems doubled its profit in the quarter ended Dec. 30, although revenue was nearly flat compared with the same period a year earlier, the company announced Thursday.
Net income for the quarter, the second of Sun’s fiscal year, was US$260 million, or US$0.31 per share, up from US$133 million and US$0.15 per share in the same quarter of fiscal 2006, the company announced Thursday.
Revenue was US$3.62 billion, up just 1.4 per cent from the same quarter a year earlier. The growth came from Sun’s services business, where revenue climbed five percent. Sales of servers and storage products, which account for about two-thirds of Sun’s business, declined by 0.5 percent.
Business was particularly slow in the U.S., where revenue declined eight per cent year over year. The Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region performed better, with growth of seven percent. EMEA accounted for 39 per cent of revenue in the quarter, overtaking the U.S., which is usually Sun’s biggest source of revenue.
Despite the quarter’s slow growth, Sun said its full-year growth would be better. On a conference call, Chief Financial Officer Mike Lehman said revenue for fiscal 2008 would increase in the “low-to-mid single digits” and predicted revenue growth in the second half of greater than five percent.
Sun’s profit benefited from its ongoing cost-cutting plan, which has included several hundred layoffs so far. Its US$260 million profit included a restructuring charge of US$32 million.
