Lotus Development Corp chief financial officer Edward Gillis told an Alex Brown technology seminar in Baltimore that the slow growth trends the company described in its second quarter will continue over the next several quarters: a combination of weak worldwide economies, declining personal computer shipments in Japan, and the faster than expected migration to products based on the Microsoft Corp Windows software interface are all factors affecting its growth; it sees replacement personal computer shipments running at a rate of 6% in the US and sales of new units virtually flat; the company is trying to move from its dependence upon its 1-2-3 spreadsheets to other products such as communications software and consulting services – We’ve come to realise the old days of 80% share in the spreadsheet category are gone forever, he said.
