Sun absorbs $147M loss as Oracle deal looms

Sun Microsystems Inc. recorded a $147 million loss while sales eroded 31 percent in the April-June period, likely the server and software maker's last full quarter as an independent company.

Sun's latest numbers, reported Friday in a regulatory filing without the usual news release and conference call with analysts, highlight the uneven financial performance that forced the Santa Clara-based company to put itself up for sale.

In April Oracle Corp. outbid IBM Corp. and agreed to buy Sun in a $7.4 billion deal. It is scheduled to be completed this summer, and still needs approval from European antitrust regulators, which could come any day now.

The deal will give Oracle more control over development of the Java programming language, which Sun invented and is a key ingredient of the Internet. It also moves Redwood Shores-based Oracle, a business software maker, into the hardware market. Sun is one of the world's biggest sellers of computer servers, which power Web sites and corporate back offices.

Sun said after the market closed that it lost $147 million, or 20 cents per share, in the three months ended June 30, which is Sun's fiscal fourth quarter. That compares with a profit of $88 million, or 11 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Excluding employee stock-based compensation and other expenses, Sun said its loss would have been 3 cents per share.

Sales in the latest period fell to $2.63 billion from $3.78 billion last year.

Revenue from server sales fell 36 percent over last year to $1.1 billion. Revenue from support services fell 15 percent to $886 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of 19 cents per share and sales of $2.37 billion.

For the full fiscal year, Sun lost $2.23 billion, versus a $403 million profit last year.

Sun's shares fell 2 cents to $9.32 in after-hours trading. The stock is still selling below the $9.50 per share that Oracle has agreed to pay for Sun, a sign that indicates some investors fear the deal might still be scuttled.

The latest results mean that Sun has lost $5.6 billion since 2002. It had only two profitable years — 2007 and 2008 — in that period.

Post Twitter status via SMS - the right way

Last year around September, Globe Telecoms launched their Twitter service in the Philippines as response to Twitter's blocking of their UK number from sending updates to people outside of the United States, Canada or India.

The thing is, the Globe Twitter service costs Php2.5o per text message sent or received. You get the first three personal updates for free, then 2.50 after that. You can imagine how expensive this can add up to at the end of the day.

With the coming of the iPhone and other Wi-Fi enabled phones to us, posting updates over Twitter Mobile became more popular. Rather than going through SMS, people simply log onto the Web service and do their micro-blogging from there. Or they might get Twitter apps that work on their phones/smartphones.

But what about the rest of us without Wi-Fi phones or smartphones? Well, there's recently been good buzz about a service called "I Speak over Internet Protocol". It's not actually a protocol, just some marketing gimmick I guess? But the point is that registering with them will enable you to send updates via SMS to Twitter for P1.00 per update, or at no additional cost if you're on the Unlimited Text offering of your carrier.

Here's how it works.

You register with Isip.ph. Then they ask you for your Twitter username and password. Then they give you a mobile number that you can send your updates to. And voila. You get to update your Twitter status via SMS.

What happens behind this is that when you register and give Isip.ph your Twitter username and password, they will post the messages you send them via the number they gave you. You text your update to Isip.ph, they read the message, then copy that message to your Twitter status.

Technically, it's a workaround. I don't see how this won't work though. It's a great service since Isip.ph doesn't actually charge you for this. If you get charged, it's done by your carrier (Smart, Globe, Sun Cellular).

One shortcoming though is that you still don't get SMS updates from Twitter via Isip.ph. I guess you really need to go with Globe for that. I'll post about this other Globe offer later, if I can.