Sun Reports $431 Million Net LossSun Reports $431 Million Net Loss

Sun Microsystems Friday reported a net loss of $431 million in the second quarter of 2002, compared with $423 million in net income in the same period last year. Revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 30 was $3.19 billion, almost 40% less than the $5.12 billion it recorded in last year's second quarter.

Sun cites several reasons for the quarterly loss, including restructuring charges, the continuing impact of last fall's terrorist attacks, and the recession.

President Ed Zander says Sun still gained market share in some areas during the quarter. For example, he says, Sun sold out its high-end 15K server in the quarter, sold 200 9900 high-end storage systems based on Hitachi's technology, and almost doubled sales of four-way and eight-way servers from the previous quarter. Zander also says the company has been penetrating new markets, including government, life sciences, and health care. Expressing optimism for upcoming quarters, Zander says he sees new opportunities this year with customers from Compaq and Hewlett-Packard because both of those vendors plan to migrate from Unix, whether their proposed merger is completed or fails.

"I'm glad we're putting 2001 behind us," says chairman and CEO Scott McNealy. But, he says, "Nobody else can sell customers a binary/floppy/management compatible architecture from under $1,000 to more than $1,000,000."