Dell computer for sale

Two companies, two markets and two different stories. Cisco Systems, aimed at the sizzling networking market, continued to dazzle last week with results that outshone even the best of Wall Street's expectations. Dell Computer Corp., once the darling of Wall Street with revenues leaping 50 percent or more a quarter, finds itself in the dumps, meeting sharply lowered estimates.

While John Chambers, Cisco's chief executive officer, gave interviews on Cisco's vision of the future, Dell was mired in the present. The direct marketer of PCs had warned in late January that inconsistent supplies from Intel of key semiconductor parts for high-priced machines and a slower than expected rebound by corporate customers from the Y2K rollover would damage results. They did.

Including acquisitions, San Jose-based Cisco reported net sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2000 ended Jan. 29 were $4.4 billion, up 53 percent from the same quarter last year. Pro forma net income, which excludes the write-off of purchased in-process R&D, acquisition-related costs, amortization of goodwill, and purchased intangible assets, and the net gain on the sale of certain minority investments, was $906 million, or 25 cents per share. This is compared with pro forma net income of $609 million, or 17 cents per share, for the second quarter of fiscal 1999, up 49 percent and 47 percent, respectively. A number of acquisitions were completed in the quarter.

"The momentum of the Internet revolution continues to accelerate across both business and government sectors on a worldwide basis," stated Chambers.

Dell, based in Round Rock, Texas, posted net income of $436 million, or 16 cents per share, for the quarter, including a special gain of 1 cent per share, compared with $425 million, or 15 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago. Sales climbed 31 percent to $6.8 billion from $5.17 billion. Before the late-January warning, analysts had been expecting revenues of $7 billion and earnings per share of 21 cents.

While results grew from the year-ago quarter, they slumped sequentially.

For the full year, Dell reported revenue rose 38 percent to $25.3 million from $18.2 million. Net income was $1.9 million, or 68 cents per share, vs. $1.5 billion, or 53 cents per share, up 28 percent.

At the same time, worldwide product shipments grew at more than double the industry rate in the quarter, and sales of enterprise-class products were sharply higher, Dell said.

Dell's full-year net income figure excludes a $194 million charge for purchased in-process R&D related to the acquisition of ConvergeNet Technologies.