Apple's loss not all bad news

Apple's woes continue with the firm announcing yesterday it lost $32 million for its third financial quarter on the back of a sharp decline in sales. Revenues were down to $2.18 billion from $2.58 billion for the equivalent quarter last year when profit was $103 million.

The loss came despite $39 million earned from selling a stake in America Online. Apple said its well publicised recall of Powerbooks had contributed to the red ink.

However, many observers said they were surprised at the small size of the loss. Some Apple watchers had predicted losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars range. Those impressed see the less than expected loss as evidence of new CEO Gilbert Amelio's housekeeping expertise.

Apple expects to build sales of multimedia, Internet and servers instead of low-margin desktops.