Vendors' figures raise hopes

IBM, SAP and Apple report financial results

The IT industry received mixed financial signals last week as three major vendors reported their results.

Both IBM and SAP reported results above analyst expectations, but Apple made its first net loss in nearly two years.

In its third-quarter results, IBM reported turnover of $19.8bn flat with last year, and profit of $1.7bn. The vendor also said it was looking to make more acquisitions.

Sam Palmisano, chief executive of Big Blue, said Global Services, storage and eServer units had performed particularly well. "Our performance was the result of disciplined execution, backed by IBM's strong position in areas be-coming increasingly important," he said.

SAP also lifted the sector, with results way above expectations. The largest European software vendor posted Q3 turnover of €1.7bn, compared with €1.6bn for the same quarter a year ago. Net profit for the quarter grew five-fold, rising to €202m, compared with €37m in Q3 2001.

EMEA turnover increased by nine per cent, and SAP said it expects the sector to stay strong.

However, analysts warned the industry not to become over-optimistic, following Apple's Q4 results. The vendor posted a net loss of $45m compared with a profit of $66m last year. Turnover was also down, to $1.4bn, compared with $1.5bn in Q4 last year.

Steve Brazier, chief executive of analyst firm Canalys.com, said some sectors had fared better than others. "In the enterprise IT spending environment, services, storage and hardware are pretty dire with little sign of an upturn. But in the SME and consumer markets things are looking more attractive," he said.

Brazier added that this year's results would be affected by 11 September.

"We have had four quarters of slack or negative growth, so in comparison to last year most firms' results will look good this year," he said.