Palm Losses Worsen

Palm on Thursday afternoon reported mixed results for its summer quarter, which ended in August. The company posted a net loss of $41.9 million versus a just $0.8 million loss from the same period a year ago. The company attributed somewhat more than half the loss, or $24.4 million, to increasing stock prices and related compensation as well as securities, but left most other concerns to performance-related problems.

The news comes despite unusually strong smartphone sales for Palm. The company sold nearly 1.03 million devices over the three-month span of the quarter, representing a 49 percent spike year-over-year. It also notes that the revenue from these sales climbed by 10 percent to $333.8 million.

Palm chief Ed Colligan explains the loss by arguing that the company is still in the middle of a "transformation" that won't near completion until the launch of its long-delayed, Linux-based Palm OS sequel due in early 2009.

The company has again been partly buoyed by the entry-level Centro, which landed at more carriers in the summer and saw a price drop to $70 at the same time as the iPhone 3G launch that helped rally back-to-school sales. Palm also launched two key new Treo smartphones during the period that included both the 800w for Sprint and its first true worldwide HSDPA phone, the Treo Pro.

By Electronista Staff