Posted by : bpburnwal on Sep 30, 2003 - 09:49 AM General

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Troubled computer maker Sun Microsystems Inc. revised its fiscal fourth quarter results Monday, taking a $1.05 billion charge after realizing its first-quarter loss will be greater than expected.
Including the charge, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company now says it lost $1.04 billion, or 32 cents per share, in the period ending June 30. Previously, it had reported a small profit of $12 million, or break-even on a per-share basis, for the period.

Sun said it expects to post a loss of between 7 cents and 10 cents for the quarter that ended Sunday. The company declined to be more specific, saying it would report its full results on Oct. 16, as scheduled.

Analysts were expecting Sun to report a first-quarter loss of 2 cents per share on sales of $2.71 billion, according to a survey by Thomson First Call.

The charge is to boost a ``deferred tax assets valuation allowance,'' which was calculated when its fourth-quarter earnings were announced July 23 and recalculated before those figures were reported officially to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The charge was in accordance with the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 109 and generally accepted accounting procedures, said Andy Lark, a Sun spokesman.

``We will continue to review that deferred asset valuation. It could result in an increase or decrease in the future,'' he said. ``That's what makes this a noncash writeoff.''

The greater-than-expected first-quarter loss is yet another blow to Sun, which sold the hardware and software that powered much of the Internet during the high-tech boom. The company was hit hard when many customers, including countless dot-coms, went out of business during the tech downturn that began in 2000.

Its proprietary equipment based on the Unix operating system now must compete with rivals' machines that run less-expensive chips and software. Sales of its high-end equipment also face renewed competition from International Business Machines Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co., which offer a wide variety of consulting services.

In recent weeks, Sun has launched a wide array of new software and hardware in an effort to improve sales. It had been edging into profitability in recent quarters.

Before the news was released, shares of Sun closed at $3.86, up 2 cents, in Monday trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. In the extended session, they lost 31 cents, or 8 percent.