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Micron beats estimates
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March 29, 2001: 5:57 p.m. ET
Micron Technology reports a loss of 1 cent per share as chip sales tumble
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Computer memory-chip maker Micron Technology on Thursday reported a narrower fiscal second-quarter operating loss than the Street had expected.
The company, which last week said its Micron Electronics subsidiary would exit the PC business, said it lost $4 million, or a penny per share, during the quarter ended March 1. That compares with a profit of 29 cents per share in the same quarter a year earlier but is less than the 3 cents per share analysts had expected the company to lose during the period, according to a survey conducted by earnings tracker First Call.
Micron Technology (MU: Research, Estimates) said its consolidated net loss for the quarter, which includes the effects of the net loss from the Micron Electronics, was $88 million, or 15 cents per share.
At $1.06 billion, Micron Technology's total second-quarter sales slipped 8.6 percent from $1.16 billion during the same quarter a year earlier. 
The company is a leading supplier of computer memory chips. Last week, Micron Electronics (MUEI: Research, Estimates), which is majority-owned by Micron Technology, reported a wide fiscal second-quarter loss, where the Street had expected a profit. It also announced that it will sell-off its PC and memory-module businesses and focus instead on its Web-hosting business.
Second-quarter net sales from the company's semiconductor operations totaled $1.05 billion, down 33 percent from the prior quarter. Micron Technology said that decrease was due in large part to a 50 percent decline in average selling prices for its memory chips.
Even so, Micron Technology said its semiconductor operations were "slightly profitable" in the second quarter on a pre-tax basis. However, the company did not provide a specific figure.
Shares of Micron Technology rose $1 to $42.45 ahead of the earnings report. Micron Electronics shares, which have dropped sharply since it reported its latest results, rose 11 cents to $1.74. 
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