Palm figures unsurprisingly poor

Palm announced yesterday that it had recorded a loss for the first quarter of its financial year.

Total revenue in the first quarter of fiscal year 2008, ended Aug. 31, was $360.8 million. Smartphone sell-through for the quarter was 689,000 units, up 21 percent year over year. Smartphone revenue was $302.2 million, up 12 percent from the year-ago period.

Net loss for the quarter was $(0.8) million, or $(0.01) per diluted share. Net loss included stock-based compensation expense of approximately $5.1 million, amortization of intangible assets of approximately $1.0 million, patent acquisition cost of $5.0 million, restructuring charges of approximately $6.6 million and gain on sale of land of approximately $4.4 million. This compares to net income for the first quarter of fiscal year 2007 of $16.5 million, or $0.16 per diluted share.

Net income in the first fiscal quarter, measured on a non-GAAP(1) basis, totaled $9.7 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, excluding stock-based compensation expense, amortization of intangible assets, patent acquisition cost, restructuring charges, gain on sale of land and the related income tax provision. This compares to non-GAAP net income in the first quarter of fiscal year 2007 of $21.5 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, which excluded the effects of amortization of intangible assets, stock-based compensation and the related income tax provision.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, totaled $4.1 million. EBITDA, adjusted to add back stock-based compensation, other non-operating expense, patent acquisition cost, restructuring charges and gain on sale of land, or Adjusted EBITDA, totaled $16.7 million.

"The launch of our Palm Treo 500v with Vodafone and the Palm Centro with Sprint in September demonstrate our commitment to delivering competitive, high-quality solutions and expanding our reach to a broader market and range of customers," said Ed Colligan, Palm president and chief executive officer. "As we move toward completing the recapitalization transaction with Elevation Partners, we are excited to strengthen our ability to accelerate Palm's growth in the future."