Micron logs wide loss

September 25, 2001: 5:54 p.m. ET

Computer chipmaker says it lost 96 cents per share

NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Micron Technology Inc. on Tuesday logged a wide fiscal fourth-quarter loss, falling far short of Wall Street's expectations, on sales that plummeted from the same period last year.

After the close of trading, Micron, a leading computer memory chip maker, said it lost $576 million, or 96 cents per share, during the quarter ended Aug. 30. That compares with a net profit of $726.7 million, or $1.28 per share, during the same period last year.

Excluding a one-time charge of $118 million, or 20 cents per share, related to its spin-off of Micron Electronics, Micron Technology's operating loss for the quarter was 76 cents per share, where analysts generally had expected the company to post a loss from operations of 34 cents per share, according to a survey conducted by earnings tracker First Call.

At $470.5 million, Micron's fourth-quarter sales fell 79.4 percent from $2.3 billion during last year's fourth quarter.

Average selling prices for the company' memory products in the fourth quarter fell roughly 55 percent from the third quarter and decreased approximately 85 percent compared with the fourth quarter of the prior year, Micron said.

"The global economy is facing stiff challenges from which our industry is certainly not exempt," Steve Appleton, Micron's CEO, said in a statement. "However, Micron is poised with one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry, an excellent complement of people resources, an industry leading process technology and a resolve to emerge from these troubled times as the strongest semiconductor memory manufacturer in the world."

As have most of its competitors whose business is linked to the PC market, Micron has been socked by a sharp slowdown in demand compounded with increased pricing pressure.

The company's latest results also include an inventory write down of $289 million, or 48 cents per share, after taxes.

Shares of Micron Technology (MU: Research, Estimates) fell $1.06 to $21.24 in New York Stock Exchange trade ahead of the earnings release.