Storage Giant EMC Beats Expectations

Tuesday, January 23rd 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

HOPKINTON, Mass. (AP) â€” EMC Inc. reported a 49 percent fourth-quarter surge in earnings Tuesday, beating analysts expectations as the data storage giant showed promising signs that it could ride out a high-tech downturn.

For the three months ended Dec. 31, EMC earned $562.9 million, or 25 cents per share, up from $376.5 million, or 17 cents per share in the year-ago period. The 1999 results exclude a one-time restructuring charge of about $170 million.

Analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial were expecting 23 cents per share.

Revenue increased 40 percent, from $1.88 billion to $2.62 billion.

``We closed an extraordinary year with a bang â€” four straight quarters of accelerating growth rates, and our highest quarterly storage growth rate in nearly six years,'' said EMC executive chairman Mike Ruettgers. ``It's clear we gained share in every major segment of our addressable market, and our competitive lead has never been stronger.''

Shares of EMC rose 69 cents to $77.19 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

A 250 percent increase in revenue from networked information systems to $770 million and a 72 percent jump in software sales to $483 million drove the strong report, EMC said.

The company also reported strong results from international sales: Year-to-year Asia and Pacific sales were up 134 percent and sales from Europe and the Middle East rose 54 percent.

Net income for all of 2000 was $1.78 billion, or 79 cents per share, up 51 percent from $1.18 billion, or 54 cents in 1999, excluding the charge. Total revenue for the full fiscal year 2000 was $8.87 billion, a 32 percent jump from 1999's $6.7 billion.

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On the Net: http://www.emc.com