Sun says Q4 results will be roughly on the mark

IDG News Service - Sun Microsystems Inc. gave an early look at its fourth-quarter financial results on Tuesday, reporting figures that would be down year-to-year but roughly in line with analyst forecasts.

The news pushed Sun's share price up almost 14% to $10 in after-hours trading. The stock had closed a day earlier at $8.78, close to its 52-week low.

Sun said revenue for the quarter ended June 30 will be in the range of $3.73 billion to $3.8 billion; the consensus forecast by financial analysts was $3.8 billion, according to Thomson Financial. The preliminary figures are lower than those from last year's fourth quarter, when Sun's revenue was almost $3.84 billion.

Operating income will be in the range of $0.25 to $0.35 per share, Sun said, compared to the consensus projection of $0.27 by analysts. The income figures exclude a restructuring charge of about $100 million and other one-time items. Including those items and using generally accepted accounting principles, Sun said it expects net earnings per share of $0.05 to $0.15.

"In these difficult economic times, we continue to see customers across the world look to open software and hardware as a source of savings, and feel Sun is well positioned with our most robust line ever of server, storage, software and service offerings," Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz said in a statement.

The company is due to report its full results on Aug. 1.

Sun's shares have been taking a battering as the company struggles to grow its revenue. The vendor in May reported a small year-to-year revenue decline in its third quarter, to $3.27 billion, and said that it would lay off 2,500 workers, or about 7% of its workforce.