Apple Reports Q1 LossApple Reports Q1 Loss

Apple Computer on Wednesday reported a first-quarter loss of $8 million, its second straight loss, compared with a $38 million profit a year ago. The loss marked the first time the Mac maker has lost money in consecutive quarters since CEO Steve Jobs regained control of the company in 1997.

The net loss came on revenue of $1.5 billion, up 7% from $1.4 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2002. Sales of Apple's iMac consumer machines rose 28%, to 298,000 units during the quarter ended Dec. 28, reflecting Apple's introduction last year of an iMac desktop featuring a 17-inch flat-panel screen.

But sales of business-oriented PowerMac G4 computers fell 25%, to 158,000 units, in part because Apple's customer base is waiting for software maker Quark Inc. to ship a version of its QuarkXPress desktop-publishing software that runs on Apple's OS X operating system. A "sluggish economy" also hurt sales, CFO Fred Anderson said in a conference call with analysts. "The biggest challenge we have is to get our PowerMac units back up" to 200,000 units per quarter, he said. Apple plans programs designed to spur sales of the machines to graphics designers and other multimedia workers, he added.

Anderson also forecast a "slight profit" for its second quarter, though revenue is expected to remain essentially unchanged.