Micron Continues Rebound From Drop In Chip Prices

Micron Technology Inc. reported net income nearly quadrupled during the final quarter of its 1997 financial year as it continued rebounding from a dramatic decline in computer chip prices.

The company reported on Monday that earnings for the three-month period that ended Aug. 28 totaled $72.1 million, compared with just $18.6 million for the same period a year earlier.

Per share earnings were 33 cents, compared with just nine cents a year ago as net sales rose to $946.2 million from just over $700 million during the summer of 1996.

The performance pushed total earnings for the 12 months that ended Aug. 28 to $332.2 million, down from $593 million. But the bulk of that 1996 income was generated during the first half of the fiscal year before the bottom fell out of the international chip market.

Total sales for the year were off just marginally, to $3.5 billion from $3.65 billion a year before, and the per-share profit totaled $1.54, down from $2.76 during 1996.

“Micron earned a 9-percent net profit in spite of an approximate 75-percent decline in semiconductor average prices for the year,” Chairman Steve Appleton said in a statement. But he also pointed out that operating results for 1997 included a $94 million after-tax gain on the sale of a portion of the company’s holdings in computer-maker Micron Electronics Inc. as well as another $13 million on sales of other investments.

Micron Electronics also issued its final quarter financial report, showing a net profit of $15 million compared to $26.4 million a year earlier. Earnings per share were 16 cents, compared with 29 cents during the last quarter of fiscal 1996, on sales of $513.1 million, up from $457.4 million the previous summer.

Earnings for the entire financial year totaled $87.3 million, nearly double the $44.5 million reported for 1996 on total sales of $2 billion, up from $1.8 billion the previous year. Per-share income was 92 cents, compared with 48 cents.

The company said fourth quarter results were adversely affected by its acquisition of NetFRAME Systems Inc. for $17.4 million, and performance for the entire year was also set back by restructuring resulting from a 1996 decision to discontinue sales of one computer line.

But overall sales of personal computers was up 22 percent, the company said, due to strong demand for systems by government and corporate customers.

Some of the stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Friday on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stock Market, and American Stock Exchange.

NYSE

Eastman Kodak, up 1-9/16 at 64.

The Rochester, N.Y.-based company said late Thursday it will begin cutting costs by eliminating at least 200 management jobs, the first step in a unit-by-unit overhaul analysts say could bring thousands of layoffs.

Southwest Airlines, up 1-1/2 at 31-7/8.

The Dallas-based airline declared a 3-for-2 stock split and increased its dividend.

Reed International, down 3-7/8 at 34-7/8.

Elsevier, down 1-5/8 at 30-3/8.

Reed Elsevier, a publishing joint venture between the two European companies, disclosed that it will have to repay advertisers who were overcharged due to inflated circulation figures for some travel publications.

NASDAQ

TechForce, down 3-1/8 at 8.

The Clearwater, Fla.-based provider of computer network services said late Thursday its third-quarter earnings will be below Wall Street estimates. The lower earnings are a result of softening hardware sales and rising costs.

Trimble Navigation, down 1-3/8 at 19-1/2.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company warned late Thursday its shipment of navigation systems to the U.S. Army and Air Force will be delayed.