Sun Posts Strong Profits

Sun Microsystems today reported a profit of $260 million for the quarter ending Dec. 30, MarketWatch reports. Though total revenue was $3.62 billion, Sun’s service and sales were responsible for most of the gains, growing to $1.37 billion from $1.31 billion in the same quarter last year. Hardware product sales fell slightly from $2.26 billion to $2.25 billion over the same interval.

Despite slower revenue growth, Sun's profit was nearly double the year-ago period because of a shift toward selling higher-margin products. CEO Jonathan Schwartz credited success in the Indian, Chinese, and Eastern European markets for the company's strong showing, and he said the results “highlight the accelerating demand set to fuel growth in the back half of the fiscal year." (More Sun Microsystems stories.)