APPLICATIONS

Global supercomputer leader Cray Inc. reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2003 ended December 31, 2003. Fourth quarter 2003 revenue was a record $67.2 million, up 71 percent from $39.2 million in the same period last year. Fourth quarter net income was $45.4 million, or $.56 per fully diluted share compared to $1.3 million or $.02 per fully diluted share in the fourth quarter 2002. Non-recurring items for the fourth quarter 2003 included a write-up of a deferred tax asset of $42.2 million and a restructuring charge of $4.0 million related primarily to severance. Non-recurring items improved earnings by $38.2 million, or $.47 per fully diluted share. "Fourth quarter revenue, our best yet, capped a great 2003 for Cray and the results were in line with our expectations," commented Jim Rottsolk, Cray Chairman and CEO. "Notably during the quarter, we obtained all expected acceptances, including the two most powerful systems ever installed by Cray," Rottsolk said. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2003, Cray reported revenue of $237.0 million compared to $155.1 million last year, an increase of 53 percent. Including non-recurring items, net income for 2003 was $62.9 million, or $.81 per fully diluted share, up from net income of $5.4 million and fully diluted earnings per share of $.10 per share in the same period last year. For the full-year 2003, non-recurring items improved earnings by $38.2 million or $.47 per fully diluted share. "Cray delivered record financial results in 2003 and throughout the year we successfully delivered on our overall strategy," Rottsolk said. "In addition to growing the company, we accomplished many additional objectives. We strengthened our capital structure with a successful public offering and the retirement of all outstanding bank debt; gained significant market share in a highly competitive environment; and demonstrated our ability to build and bring to market products customers need," he said. Recent Highlights -- In October, Cray won an order from the Boeing Company for a Cray X1(TM) system to support Boeing's research and development efforts. The Boeing order represented the first commercial order for the Cray X1. -- In October, Cray received an order from Warsaw University's Interdisciplinary Center for Mathematical and Computational Modeling (ICM), Warsaw, Poland. The order included an upgrade to the successor system, the Cray X1E(TM). -- In October, Cray unveiled plans to deliver a new product based on the "Red Storm" 40-TeraOp (40 trillion calculations per second) supercomputer it is developing for Sandia National Laboratories. The Red Storm product is due out in 2004. -- In November, Cray reported that its Cray X1 supercomputer had the most powerful processors, according to the "World's Top500 Supercomputers," which is published annually by the universities of Tennessee and Mannheim (Germany), and NERSC/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. -- In December, Cray announced another international order for a Cray X1 system. Outlook "The outlook for 2004 and 2005 for Cray is promising and we are confident in our long-term growth prospects as well as our ability to execute," said Rottsolk. "We've set a high bar for ourselves in 2004, planning to grow revenue to about $300 million while achieving operating profit in the range of eight to twelve percent of revenue. Our plan depends primarily on the timely and successful introduction of two new products, the Cray X1E and commercialized Red Storm systems, both of which we plan to launch in the second half of 2004." "Our outlook also relies on maintaining momentum with our current customer base, including the U.S. government," Rottsolk added. "While the fiscal 2004 U.S. federal budget process was recently completed, it remains difficult to forecast the outcome of individual budget allocations and the resulting impact on Cray."