Sun warns of revenue drop, big loss

Sun Microsystems on Monday warned of a big loss for the first quarter of its 2009 fiscal year, issuing preliminary results that also showed revenue falling.

The server and software vendor reported a preliminary loss in the range of US$0.25 and US$0.35 per share, including a charge of about US$60 million associated with the restructuring that Sun announced Aug. 1. Not counting that charge or other one-time items, the company said it would post a loss of between US$0.02 and US$0.12 per share.

Revenue for the quarter will come in between US$2.95 billion and US$3.05 billion, down from US$3.22 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2008, Sun said. The company plans to release its complete first-quarter results on Oct. 30.

Financial analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had expected a loss of US$0.01 on revenue of US$3.14 billion.

"Sun and its customers are seeing the impact of a changing economy," CEO Jonathan Schwartz said in a prepared statement. The company is a major supplier of IT systems to financial services firms, which have been hammered in recent weeks by falling stock prices and the credit crisis.

As it released the preliminary results, Sun also said that because of several factors, including the poor economic environment, it may have to take a charge for goodwill impairment related to some of its businesses.

Sun's shares (JAVA) were down US$0.43, or 7.44 percent, to US$5.35 in after-hours trading on Monday. During regular trading Monday on the Nasdaq, the stock had risen US$0.20 to US$5.78.

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