APPLICATIONS

Cray raised its revenue guidance for 2003 based upon its current order flow and the development milestones it has achieved with its Cray X1 supercomputer system. The computer-systems company boosted its 2003 revenue guidance to at least $220 million from its previous guidance of at least $200 million. "This has been a record first quarter for orders, in excess of $100 million, and we believe we are well positioned to achieve the increased revenue number this year. Deliveries for the Cray X1 are proceeding on schedule and the initial delivery under our $30 million contract with Oak Ridge National Laboratory will begin this month," said Jim Rottsolk, Cray's chairman and chief executive. The company also said that even though it is too early to provide specific guidance, it expects growth in 2004. Shares had dropped Tuesday as investors worried that the company's $30 million contract with Oak Ridge National Laboratory may be in jeopardy. Oak Ridge recently learned that the proposed federal government budget for fiscal 2004 will allocate less money for its supercomputer project than it had requested, said James McIlree, an analyst at C.E. Unterberg Towbin. Ron Walli, a spokesman for Oak Ridge National Laboratory, said Tuesday the contract still stands with Cray, but declined to comment on the budget for 2004. He said concerns that a lower budget would mean the contract with Cray was void were unfounded.