Palm Loss Is First in Three Years; Sales Lag Behind BlackBerry, iPhone
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Palm Inc. had its first loss in more than three years as sales of its Treo e-mail phone lagged behind the BlackBerry and iPhone. The company’s shares fell 4.4% after this quarter’s forecast missed analysts’ estimates.
The first-quarter loss was $841,000, or 1 cent a share, compared with a profit of $16.5 million, or 16 cents, a year earlier, Palm said yesterday in a statement. Treo unit sales fell to 689,000 in the quarter, which ended August 31, from 750,000 in the previous period.
Palm stepped up product development and marketing after trailing Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry, in updating its designs. The company also faces competition from Apple Inc.’s iPhone and e-mail phones from Motorola Inc. and Nokia Oyj. Until new Palm products appear, the company may continue to lose sales, analysts say.
“They need new products out as soon as possible,” an analyst with Global Crown Capital in San Francisco, Pablo Perez-Fernandez, said. He rates the stock “overweight.”
