Palm Has Better than Expected Quarter
Palm has reported revenues of $225.8 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2003, up 8 percent from last quarter. Worldwide sales rose 5 per cent compared with the same period last year, as Palm sold over 900,000 handhelds during the period.
Palm reported a net loss of $15m, or 51 cents per share, on revenue of $225.8 million for its fiscal fourth-quarter. In the same quarter the preceding year, Palm reported a net loss of $27.5m, or 95 cents per share. Revenue in the period was $225.8 million, compared with $233.3m last year, better than analysts' expectations of $187 million.
"We end the year with favorable momentum on virtually every key metric of our corporate dashboard," said Eric Benhamou, Palm, Inc. chairman and interim chief executive officer. "We are gratified to see our efforts to reinvigorate product innovation and to re-energize the market rewarded and our unit demand return to positive growth territory. While the economic context continues to be a challenge, we believe our opportunities for growing shareholder value have improved."
Revenue for the full fiscal year 2003 was $871.9 million, down 15.4 percent from the $1.0 billion reported in fiscal year 2002. Non-GAAP net loss for fiscal year 2003, excluding charges was $66.1 million, or $(2.27) per share. Compared with a 2002 fiscal year new loss of $107.1 million, or $(3.74) per share.
Handheld Shipments
Palm shipped approximately 931,000 Palm handhelds during its fourth fiscal quarter, and nearly 4.2 million Palm handhelds during fiscal year 2003. That brings the total number of Palm branded handhelds shipped to-date to more than 22.3 million. Approximately 1.5 million Palm Powered handhelds, including those sold by Palm OS licensees, were shipped in the quarter, and 29.1 million have been shipped to date.
Leading Market Share
According to IDC's study in the United States, Palm Powered handhelds accounted for 77 percent of all pen-based personal digital assistants shipped in 2002. Palm Powered smartphones led the U.S. converged handheld space with a market share of 75 percent in 2002, IDC said.
"Our new spring handhelds reinvigorated demand this quarter, and built on the successful product launch we had last fall," said Todd Bradley, Palm Solutions Group president and chief executive officer. "Continuing tight operational controls also contributed to our performance. With the proposed merger of Handspring into our company, we'll be better able to meet the full range of our customers' needs and quickly enter the smartphone space, a market with high-growth potential."
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RE: Great news!
What are you talking about? This is good news, but by no means is it GREAT news. They're still losing money! 15 million in a quarter! Now, this is better than the same quarter last year, but still - how long can they sustain this? Especially at a loss of 51 cents a share!
RE: Great news!
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Fammy
RE: Great news!
If they can continue to draw in Zire buyers then push them up market to more expensive Zires and Tungstens, combined with a general market upswing, then they may even turn a profit and turn cash flow positive. Whoa.
RE: Great news!
Anyway, the most important thing is that they seem to be on track as they've never been in the last few years: The Zire and Tungsten lines are giving Palm an interesting advantage over Sony and PPC. As a matter of fact the 1 million+ Zires sold, proved that a no-backlit, no-cradle, no-color, under-100 PDA was a very good idea, contrary to our predictions in PIC a couple of months ago.
And the best is yet to come?
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Already a Tapwave's Helix fan.
RE: Great news!
>how long can they sustain this? Especially at a loss of 51 cents a share!
With around $9 cash per share on the balance sheet, they could sustain this for almost 18 quarters, or until 2007. That should give them a bit of time to turn things around into profitability.
But don't forget that they have to merge in Handsprings potential losses and lose out on PalmSource's royalty income starting next year, assuming the deal is completed.
SHIP TT2 NOW!!!!!
Tired of waiting.
RE: SHIP TT2 NOW!!!!!
RE: SHIP TT2 NOW!!!!!
RE: SHIP TT2 NOW!!!!!
>disappointed me. Talk about let downs. Holy feces.
>SJ33 is a waste of good plastic. TG50 is too
>restriced (appeals only to those wanting a
>keyboard). NX series? Boring, poorly speced, way too
>expensive.
Whoa, first you LIE to me and now you're stealing my words? KIDDING, kidding.
But seriously, I can't even count how many times I've posted my disgust with Sony and Palm's recent lineups. The Tungsten|C's specs should be standard in everything $400+. I don't want to see any more $600 NX's with 16 MB and 200 MHz with a 100 MHz bus. There are $200 Axims with better specs than that for crying out loud. What's Palm and Sony have to offer in the $200 range still? A 33 MHz, 8 MB, 160x160 12 bit color m130? Ohh, Microsoft must be wetting themselves now.
How about we up the ante already? DragonBall should be GONE in $100+ Palms.
-Bosco
RE: SHIP TT2 NOW!!!!!
Last week I got a 400MHz XScale PocketPC given free to me by Microsoft for upgrading to VisualStudio2003 (not bad for £200!) - Yes they've got to the point where they are giving them away to the masses now! Problem is they will get market hold doing things like this.
Sadly, as I have never been a fan of PPC's and it's cumbersome MS OS, and the dull looking hardware too, But I have to admit to being more tempted to this OS than ever before. I know it's been said before, but Palm need to produce some PPC bashers, before their last chance slips away. - Like the Sony's but without that bloody awful clamshell/keyboard form factor.
Just one other thought... With the PPC and Palm OS's converging on very similar hardware platforms now. i.e. XScale, 64Mb Ram, etc maybe we could see a Palm OS5.2 / 6.0 "upgrade" for PPCs? and just flash the Palm OS over the top of the Microsoft offering. As the saying goes - "If mohamed won't go to the mountain..."
I hope that Palm sees sense, and can maintain it's position.
RE: SHIP TT2 NOW!!!!!
RE: SHIP TT2 NOW!!!!!
ship a Treo 90+ now?
>ship a new treo 90 w/ a hi-res screen, OS 5, and just as long of battery life
That would be nice if it were possible at a reasonable price. But the Treo 90 has a small battery, and a hires screen uses a lot more battery power. But a Treo 90+ with a standard res display and OS 6 might be nice ...
RE: SHIP TT2 NOW!!!!!
Maybe. But it doesn't seem like that would be much of an upgrade to me. Not enough to put out $$$.
I like everything about the 90, except for the screeen...
RE: SHIP TT2 NOW!!!!!
(I feel really funny posting this under the subject of SHIP TT2 NOW!!!!!)
ANYways, was I the first person on PIC to coin the term T|T2?
RE: SHIP TT2 NOW!!!!!
Other than the SJ20 and the SJ22, the Sony line is pretty lacking...
"The Tungsten|C's specs should be standard in everything $400+."
Ooo, I'd like that...
"I don't want to see any more $600 NX's with 16 MB and 200 MHz with a 100 MHz bus. There are $200 Axims with better specs than that for crying out loud."
So I'm not the only one...
Is it me, or is Sony starting to lose their pazaz with their N-line?
"What's Palm and Sony have to offer in the $200 range still? A 33 MHz, 8 MB, 160x160 12 bit color m130? Ohh, Microsoft must be wetting themselves now."
The SJ22 is a lot better for the price (ex. 320x320 screen, and 16MB). I like my m130, but I really feel Palm needs to replace it with something better...
(Why do some people say you can kill two birds with one stone when it's hard enough killing one bird with two stones?)
RE: SHIP TT2 NOW!!!!!
Barron's just said Palm top management really sucks
How much longer can Palm burn cash like this?
RE: Barron's just said Palm top management really sucks
Okay, well, maybe I won't burn all of it, just a little, but at least I'm virtually certain I can put it to better use.
H.
RE: Barron's just said Palm top management really sucks
The money would still be wasted but going to better cause; My gadget addiction.
RE: Barron's just said Palm top management really sucks
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Eagles may soar but at least weasles don't get sucked into jet engines.
RE: Barron's just said Palm top management really sucks
Oh, and then I would bring in Yankowski to entertain me with his ideas of Palm.net and $450 monochrome models.
-Bosco
RE: Barron's just said Palm top management really sucks
That way you can give away Zires and Z71 will be at US$100.
By the way when you lock them up at the lab torture them a little for our long months waiting for the tablet 320x480!
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Just for safety sake: Drugs are illegal in South American countries! (An US friend of mine learned that when he came to Colombia)
RE: Barron's just said Palm top management really sucks
Yeah, wish they were illegal in MY neighborhood!
RE: Barron's just said Palm top management really sucks
"We end the year with favorable momentum on virtually every key metric of our corporate dashboard," said Eric Benhamou, Palm, Inc. chairman and interim chief executive officer. "We are gratified to see our efforts to reinvigorate product innovation and to re-energize the market rewarded and our unit demand return to positive growth territory. While the economic context continues to be a challenge, we believe our opportunities for growing shareholder value have improved."
This is the most corportate bull**** bingo I've seen in a while. I always have to wonder how well the company is *really* doing when they have to truck out the lingo to this depth.
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Great news!
Jon Niola
President/CEO
Media Vortex, Inc.