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Sun Micro results miss, cites U.S. economy
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Sun Microsystems Inc <JAVA.O> posted on Thursday an unexpected quarterly net loss and decline in revenue, saying the U.S. economy presented it with significant challenges, sending its shares down 12 percent.
The world's fourth-largest business computer maker reported a fiscal third-quarter net loss of $34 million, or 4 cents per share, compared with net income of $67 million, or 7 cents per share, a year earlier.
It blamed the loss on charges related to the $1 billion purchase of database software maker MySQL AB, which reduced net income by about 4 cents per share, and a higher tax bill.
Excluding those charges, Sun broke even on a per share basis, compared with the average Wall Street forecast for a profit of 18 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.
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"The U.S. economy presented Sun with significant challenges in the third quarter, masking our progress in developing nations and economies across the world," Chief Executive Jonathan Schwartz said in a statement.
Schwartz said some U.S. customers had delayed orders, citing weakness in government, retail and telecom sectors.
Revenue slipped to $3.27 billion from $3.28 billion, while analysts, on average, had expected revenue growth of 3 percent to $3.38 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
Sun also recorded taxes of $52 million compared with a year-earlier tax benefit of $3 million.
The stock fell to $14.35 in extended trading after closing up 67 cents at $16.33 on Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Philipp Gollner; Editing by Braden Reddall, Richard Chang)
