Dell's Profit More Than Tripled To $60.3 Million in 4th Quarter --- Company Cites Strong Sales Of Pentium-Based PCs And New Notebook Line
Dell Computer Corp. rode strong sales of Pentium-based computers and its resurrected notebook computer line to higher-than-expected earnings of $60.3 million, or $1.36 a share, in the fourth quarter.</br></br>Sales topped $1 billion in the period ended Jan. 29 as the direct marketer of computers, rocked last year with several stumbles, showed results of its turnaround.</br></br>"It looks really good," said Michael Dell, chairman and chief executive officer.</br></br>Dell's fourth-quarter net income was more than triple the year earlier's $17.7 million, or 39 cents a share. Analysts had been expecting about 96 cents a share, according to a First Call consensus estimate.</br></br>The fourth-quarter results included an extra month of international sales, a onetime boost to earnings of 10 cents a share, as Dell unified its domestic and international fiscal years.