Network computer maker Sun Microsystems Inc. on Thursday posted a narrower quarterly net loss on slightly lower revenue that fell less than expected, helped by rising services revenue.
For the second quarter ended Dec. 28, Santa Clara, California-based Sun said it had a net loss of $125 million, or 4 cents, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $2.28 billion, or 72 cents a share, which included $2.13 billion to write down good will and other items.
Revenue fell to $2.89 billion from $2.92 billion, topping cautious Wall Street expectations by 5 percent. Revenue rose 13.9 percent from the prior quarter, the highest sequential growth from the first quarter to the second since 1998, the company said in a statement.
A rise in services revenue in the quarter, to $944 million from $902 million a year earlier, failed to offset declining product revenue, which fell slightly to $1.94 billion from $2.01 billion.
Analysts had expected Sun to post a loss of 5 cents a share, on average, within a range of a loss of 3 cents to 7 cents, on revenue of $2.75 billion, according to Reuters Research.