PC maker Gateway Inc. reported a third-quarter loss of $520 million for the quarter, in line with the warning the company issued two weeks ago.
Excluding one-time charges, Gateway posted a loss of $83 million, or 17 cents per share, in the quarter. Last year, the direct-order PC vendor posted a profit of $131.8 million, or 40 cents per share.
The San Diego-based company has been particularly hard hit by a downturn in consumer demand for PCs and increasing price competition among top-tier computer makers. As a result, the PC maker hasnt posted a profit since the third quarter of last year.
Overall revenue for the quarter declined 44 percent, from a year earlier, dropping from $2.5 billion to $1.4 billion.
Gateway warned investors Oct. 4 that earnings were falling well short of its previous forecasts. Prior to that announcement, Wall Street analysts were projecting the company to post a loss of only 4 cents a share, according to Thompson Financial/First Call.
Since Gateway founder and chairman Ted Waitt reclaimed the duties of CEO in a management shakeout in January, hes launched a variety of market initiatives and internal restructurings in an attempt to turnaround the companys fortunes, but has been unable to stem the losses.
In addition to pulling out of overseas markets, the company has slashed its workforce by about 25 percent—or about 8,000 employees—closed several of its Gateway Country Stores and streamlined its product mix.
“While the already challenging market environment was compounded by the recent tragic events, we maintained our focus and made significant strides to align our business with our new strategy,” Waitt said in a statement accompanying the earnings report. “Weve made a number of tough decisions and were now focused on execution.”