Apple Computer Inc expects to improve its sagging gross profit margins in the second half of its fiscal year, chief financial officer Joseph Graziano told the Hambrecht conference: gross profit margin stood at 24% in the just-reported second fiscal quarter, in which Apple reported an 84% drop in profits; Graziano said the company believes a three-year erosion in profitability has stabilised; he did not quantify expected improvement; factors that led to the gross margin decline included excess inventory of PowerBook portable computers and Macintosh systems based on Motorola Inc’s 68000 technology.
