EMC, the world's biggest maker of storage computers, cut its sales forecast for the year and posted earnings that missed estimates as a weak economy prompted corporate customers to curb spending.
The company which employs 2,700 people in Ireland reported an increase of 6 per cent in third-quarter consolidated revenue compared with the same quarter last year.
Sales this year will advance to $21.6 billion to $21.75 billion, the Massachusetts-based company said today in a statement. In July, it projected sales of $22 billion.
EMC chief executive officer Joe Tucci said he anticipates only "modest growth" in technology spending next year, reflecting economic weakness that has curbed earnings throughout the computer industry.
International Business Machines and Microsoft last week reported sales that fell short of expectations as corporate clients pared outlays.
For EMC, "there was weakness in storage and hardware," said Shebly Seyrafi, an analyst at FBN Securities, in an interview.
The shares fell less than 1 per cent to $24.46 at the close in New York, and have advanced 14 per cent this year.
EMC's sales climbed 6 per cent to $5.28 billion in the third quarter.
Net income advanced to $626.3 million, or 28 cents a share, from $605.6 million, or 27 cents, a year earlier.
Full-year earnings, excluding some items, will be $1.68 to $1.70 a share, EMC said. In July, it predicted $1.70. Analysts project earnings of $1.72 a share on sales of $22 billion.
Jason Ward, EMC’s Country Manager, said the Irish market was continuing to perform strongly for EMC.
“We are experiencing strong demand across all business lines, helping our customers to transform their businesses with IT solutions that drive efficiencies and productivity gains, generate value from the information they hold, and secure their IT environments with sophisticated defence technologies”.
Bloomberg
