PALO ALTO, California - July 16, 1998
-- Sun Microsystems,
Inc., (NASDAQ: SUNW) today reported results for the fourth
quarter
which ended June 30, 1998. Revenues for the fourth quarter
were a
record $2.881 billion, up 13 percent compared with the fourth
quarter of
fiscal 1997. Net income for the fourth quarter, excluding
a one-time
charge related to an acquisition, was $288 million, an increase
of 21
percent from the previous year's results. Fourth quarter
earnings per
share, excluding the one-time charge related to an acquisition,
reached an
all time high of $.73, an increase of 20 percent compared
with the
previous year's earnings per share of $.61. Including the
above one time
charge, net income and earnings per share for the fourth
quarter of fiscal
1998 were reported as $273 million and $.69, respectively.
For the full 1998 fiscal year, the company posted revenues
of $9.791
billion, up 14 percent compared with $8.598 billion in the
previous year.
Net income was $906 million, up 23 percent over the same
period a year
earlier (excluding one-time items for fiscal years 1997
and 1998).
Earnings per share was $2.30, an increase of 22 percent
over the
corresponding period a year ago (excluding one-time items
for fiscal
years 1997 and 1998). Including these one-time items, net
income and
earnings per share for the fiscal year 1998 were $763 million
and $1.93,
respectively.
All earnings per share amounts represent diluted earnings
per share as
defined within Statement of Financial Accounting Standards
No. 128.
"We are delighted with the record revenue and net income
levels
achieved in both the fourth quarter and fiscal year 1998,"
said Chief
Executive Officer Scott McNealy. "As enterprise class
products from
Microsoft and Intel slip further into the horizon, customers
continue to
reward Sun's consistent vision, strategy and delivery of
network
computing products and services. SPARCTM, SolarisTM and
JavaTM are
proving to be the open, scalable, network computing platforms
for solving
complex information technology problems for customers."
McNealy
added, "The results speak for themselves, Sun continues
to gain share.
With more than $1 billion dollars in research and development
spent in
FY98, we continue to be a force to be reckoned with as a
high
performance, safe and scalable computing alternative."
"We are very pleased with the high quality of our results
for the
fourth quarter, considering the unfavorable currency movement
and
deepening macroeconomic turmoil in Japan and Asia."
said Michael E.
Lehman, Sun's Vice President of Corporate Resources and
Chief
Financial Officer. "Despite these challenges, we achieved
record levels
of operating income in both the fourth quarter and the fiscal
year."
Lehman concluded, "Our record shipments of servers
and workstations,
combined with investments in our field sales, service and
support
organizations, should enable Sun to further capitalize on
our market
opportunities."
This news release contains forward-looking statements based
on
current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties.
Sun's actual
results may differ materially from the results discussed
in the
forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such
a difference
include risks surrounding the timely development, production
and
acceptance of new products and services, and Sun's ability
to compete in
the highly competitive and rapidly changing marketplace.
These and
other risks are detailed from time to time in Sun's periodic
reports filed
with the Securities Exchange Commission, including, but
not limited to,
its reports on Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended June
30, 1997 and its
report on Form 10-Q for its fiscal quarter ended March 29,
1998.
###
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The
Network is the
ComputerTM," has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc.,
(NASDAQ
"SUNW"), to its position as a leading provider
of hardware, software and
services for establishing enterprise-wide intranets and
expanding the
power of the Internet. With more than $9.5 billion in annual
revenues,
Sun can be found in more than 150 countries and on the Worldwide
Web
at http://www.sun.com.
Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, Solaris, Java, and
The
Network Is The Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks
of Sun
Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.
All SPARC
trademarks are used under license and are trademarks or
registered
trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. in the United States
and other
countries. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based upon
an
architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc.