MILPITAS, Calif.-Personal digital assistant giant Palm Inc. posted a strong second quarter, finally managing to move into the black and capitalize on its new products.
Palm’s pro forma net income hit $5.7 million, or $0.19 per share, up from the $36.6 million net loss the company reported during the same quarter last year. The company’s new Zire and Tungsten T PDAs represented 44 percent of the company’s device revenues.
“Palm has continued to raise its level of execution in the quarter,” said Eric Benhamou, Palm’s chairman and chief executive officer. “Our return to profitability fulfills a commitment we made to our shareholders a year ago and we view it as a major milestone.”
Although investors seemed heartened by the news shortly after the company reported its earnings, Palm’s stock later dropped about 3 percent to about $16 per share. However, analysts seemed encouraged by the news, with BMO Nesbitt Burns commenting on the quarter’s strong results and Palm’s “compelling value.”
Palm also said it expects to separate its device and operating systems business by the first half of next year, and that more than 25 million Palm-powered devices have been shipped to date.
