Apple Computer announced yesterday that the company will report a loss for the first time in three years, disappointing shareholders who were already braced for lower-than-expected sales. While the company expects to bring in roughly $1 billion by the year’s end, this will result in a loss of close to US$250 million excluding investment gains for the quarter ending December 30. Apple had initially foreseen a gain of more than US$300 million.
Much of the loss is attributable to decreased PC sales throughout the industry, although sales of the G4 cube, which debuted at Macworld Expo in July, have also been lower than Apple predicted. The company currently has plans to work its way back to profitability–CEO Steve Jobs hinted at new products and programs that might jumpstart the lagging sales, and CFO Fred Anderson asserted that the company would indeed post gains for the last three quarters of the fiscal year 2001. Look for inventory in retail channels to be dwindling as a result of the announcement, however, as Apple struggles to clean house in time for new products that may be in the pipeline.
Apple’s stock is currently at 17, down substantially from astounding highs early last year, but the announcement is not yet reflected in the price.
