Palm Posts a Loss for a 7th Quarter

Palm reported a wider third-quarter loss that fell short of analysts’ estimates.

The net loss expanded to $95 million, or 89 cents a share, from $54.7 million, or 53 cents, a year earlier, Palm said in a statement on Thursday. Excluding costs for stock-based compensation and other items, the loss of 86 cents a share missed the average 57-cent estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Sales in the period ended Feb. 28 fell 71 percent, to $90.6 million, from $312 million.

Palm is preparing to release its new Pre smartphone in June and hopes the model will revive plummeting sales by winning over fans of the Apple iPhone and BlackBerry, made by Research in Motion.

Palm has reported losses in the last seven quarters. The company, which introduced the pioneering Pilot device more than a decade ago, said on March 3 that sales declined because of dwindling orders for its older models. fuente: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/technology/companies/20palm.html?_r=1&ref=technology