Storage Technology Corp., a mid-tier maker of disk arrays and tape libraries, announced Tuesday income of $16.5 million on revenues of $480 million for the first quarter of 2003.
This compares to year-ago income of $6 million, with revenue up 5 percent from $455.9 million, also a year ago.
“Were very pleased with the economic and revenue growth,” said Patrick Martin, chairman, CEO, and president of the Louisville, Colo., company. Citing gains in international sales, disk-based backup, the linear tape open format, and professional services, “The strategy that weve embarked on clearly has taken hold. We continue to be effectively debt-free,” he said.
Looking forward, “This year is shaping up to be a challenging one. But we anticipate new growth in 2003,” though only in the single digits, he said. The company has a cash balance of $719 million, with about 7,100 employees, officials added.
In products, StorageTek will bring Ficon support to some of its disk arrays, and will support multiple drive types in its disk backup systems, officials said.
Not mentioned by officials today was the drop-off from fourth-quarter 2002 results, which saw income at $61.1 million and revenue of $590.1 million. Explaining the large decline, “Thats been the history of this business,” Martin said, in an interview. “As the revenues go up, they absorb more of the fixed cost, and it all goes to the bottom line.”
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