A profit slippage of 28.5% to $111m on sales up 5% at $3,352m was on the face of it a rather less ghastly out-turn for DEC’s second quarter than might have been expected in all the circumstances, and the company certainly though so – With this quarter’s results, we are beginning to see the benefits from several of our investments and our ongoing efforts to control costs and improve revenue growth – our progress to date is an indication that we are on the right track, said senior vice-president John Smith. The company says that foreign revenues and demand strengthened, and that sales of Unix-based workstations and servers grew strongly, expanding the company’s market share. It also says that demand for the new VAX 4000 system exceeded expectations, while interest in the top-end VAX 9000 remained high – more than 100 were shipped during the period to bring the total to 180, and it expects to ship more than 100 this quarter. President Ken Olsen added that DEC, which has some $3,000m in the bank, will continue to invest in high growth sectors, customer support, development of alternative and lower cost distribution channels and new technology, and is able to do so because of its financial stability and flexibility.
