Conference hydra::amiga_v1

1588.0. "Commodore Fourth Quarter Results" by NAC::PLOUFF (Beautiful downtown Littleton) Thu Aug 11 1988 10:12

    Latest financial results taken from Vogon News Service.
    
    Commodore International - Reports sixfold rise in net in its 4th period
    Partly reflecting some initial successes with its Amiga personal
    computer, Commodore said 4th quarter net income rose to $12.2 million
    from $2.1 million a year ago. Sales increased 13% to $215.2 million
    from $190.4 million. For the year, Commodore said net nearly doubled to
    $55.8 million from fiscal 1987's $28.6 million. Fiscal 1988 included a
    $7.6 million gain from tax benefits related to the company's prior
    losses, and fiscal 1987 included a similar, $6 million tax credit.
    Sales for the year rose 8% to $871.1 million from $806.7 million - the
    first annual increase in sales to exceed a fraction of a percent since
    1984. 
    
    Besides the Amiga and a continued emphasis on cost-cutting, Chairman
    Irving Gould said the strong results also reflect that U.S. revenue
    rose in the 4th quarter, the first such increase in two years. Still,
    Dataquest Inc., a market research firm, says a recent survey indicates
    that Commodore's market share will decline again this year as its
    change in product positioning continues. It says Commodore will account
    for just 2.3% of the world-wide personal-computer revenue this year,
    down from 3.1% in 1987. In the U.S., Dataquest says Commodore's share
    will fall to 1.8% from 2.6%. 
    
    Commodore says the speed and clarity of the Amiga's graphics make it a
    natural for businesses making slides and overhead transparencies. Many
    computer companies have decided that products enabling so-called
    desktop presentations are the next hot area of opportunity. And
    Commodore is hoping to turn any successes into beachheads that will
    expand into businesses, much the way Apple Computer used the
    desktop-publishing success of its Macintosh to win converts among
    corporate customers. 

    {The Wall Street Journal, 10-Aug-88, p. 5}