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IBM posts sharp drop in quarterly profits

ARMONK, N.Y., July 17 (Reuters) -International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM - News) on Wednesday said its profit fell sharply for the fourth quarter in a row, as corporations worried about their own stagnant bottom lines spent less on technology.

IBM, which sells everything from computer software to microchips to computer services, said it earned 3 cents per share in the second quarter, down from $1.15 per share a year earlier.

The No. 1 computer maker said it earned 84 cents per share excluding charges of 81 cents per share to cover job cuts, a reorganization of its microelectronics division and for its money-losing hard disk drive business.

The Armonk, New York-based company, whose results are a bellwether for the influential technology industry, announced plans to sell most of its hard-disk drive assets to Hitachi Ltd. for $2.05 billion at the beginning of June.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/020717/tech_ibm_earns_1.html