EMC heralds uptick in earnings

EMC has announced better-than-expected preliminary earnings for its fourth quarter -- good news it credited to an uptick in customer spending, particularly in the area of midrange storage arrays.

EMC said its fourth-quarter revenue will be at least US$1.47 billion, exceeding the company's prior guidance of US$1.26 billion. Revenue for the fourth quarter last year was US$1.51 billion.

Joe Tucci, president and CEO of the Hopkinton, Mass.-based company, said "demand was particularly strong for our newly introduced CX family of Clariion storage platforms."

EMC said it will still be reporting a loss when it releases Jan. 23 its complete results for the fourth quarter, its sixth straight quarterly loss. That loss reflects a US$160 million restructuring charge related to job cuts it announced last year.

Clinton Vaughan, an analyst at Salomon Smith Barney Holdings, described EMC's news as "surprisingly strong" in a research note today. Vaughan said the sales could be attributed both to direct channels and a partnership agreement signed with Dell Computer in March 2002.

"We would believe these results support our thesis that EMC is on the road to recovery," Vaughan said.