ROUNDUPS
In the papers 19 April
19-04-2002
by Paula Mythen
Penalty for breaches by Irish telecoms operators rises to at least EUR4 million | Compaq reports small profit in first quarter
The Irish Times reports that the Minister for Public Enterprise, Mary O'Rourke, announced tougher penalties for Irish telecoms as part of the second stage of the Communications Regulation Bill. The maximum penalty for licence breaches by telecoms operators will rise to EUR4 million from EUR1,900 or 10 percent of the operator's turnover, whichever is greater.
The paper also reports that the Nasdaq stock exchange halted trading in Metromedia Fiber Network shares on Thursday, a day after the firm delayed filing its financial results for a second time. A Metromedia spokeswoman said the firm had not yet announced a new date to report results. She said the company had not filed for bankruptcy and was still working with creditors on managing debt.
The same paper reports that Microsoft is to cut the price of its Xbox video games console to just EUR299 from 26 April, compared with the EUR479 price tag at launch. Although the company refused to disclose Xbox sales figures in Europe, analysts have said sales had been slow to take off in Europe, where Xbox was pitched at a far higher price than in the US. The price cuts will take effect just a week before Nintendo introduces its new games console, the GameCube, in Europe.
The Financial Times reports that Microsoft missed earnings forecasts for the quarter to March 31 and issued lower than expected revenue and earnings predictions for the financial year starting in June. The world's largest software company posted earnings per share of USD0.49, which is USD0.02 below forecast, on revenues of USD7.25 billion. Revenues were up 12.5 percent year on year but were lower than expectations of USD7.34 billion. Net income during the quarter rose 11.8 percent year on year from USD2.45 billion to USD2.73 billion.
The same paper reports that Sun Microsystems said on Thursday it would reduce its workforce by about 1,000, mainly by attrition, as it reported third-quarter earnings that were slightly better than expected. Revenues in the third quarter were down 24 percent at USD3.1 billion, compared with USD4.1 billion a year ago, and flat on a sequential basis. The net loss of USD0.01 per share was better than analysts' consensus estimates of a loss of USD0.02; in the year ago period, Sun reported a profit of USD0.04 per share.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Compaq reported a small first-quarter profit despite a continued sales slump that has expanded to its services business. The Texas based computer maker earned USD44 million, or USD0.03 a share, compared with a net loss of USD131 million, or USD0.08 per share, in the year-earlier period.
Revenue at Compaq fell 16 percent to USD7.73 billion from USD9.18 billion as sales of big computer hardware fell sharply, and service revenue declined for the first time in more than two years. The company said service revenue fell 3 percent as demand for assembling complex projects for customers declined.
The same paper also reports that Gateway Inc. reported a first-quarter loss as it cut prices and boosted advertising spending to counter a sharp slump in personal computer sales. The company said it had a net loss of USD123 million, or USD0.39 a share, compared with a net loss of USD503 million, or USD1.56 a share, a year earlier. Unit sales slumped 41 percent to 645,000 from 1.1 million a year earlier, but the home PC maker said it believes it gained market share compared with its weak fourth quarter.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 