11th Consecutive Quarter Of Earnings Improvement For StorageTek

Storage Technology Corp. on Tuesday reported a first-quarter profit of $16.5 million, or 15 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $480 million, compared with net income of $6 million, or 6 cents a diluted share, on revenue of $455.9 for the same period a year ago.

The storage vendor says revenue for storage services reached $198.7 million, up 14% from $173.7 million in the first quarter of 2002. Revenue for storage products declined slightly, to $281.3 million from $282.2 million a year ago.

The company said disk products showed substantial growth, hitting $37.3 million, up from $20 million a year ago. Tape products, however, showed a decline, posting revenue of $215.9 million, down from $227.2 million.

The company has reported 11 consecutive quarters of year-over-year earnings improvement, CEO Patrick Martin says. "Given the difficult external environment, we are very pleased to show revenue growth."