Compaq Computer yesterday said that third-quarter net earnings fell 77.7 per cent to $115 million (£75.8 million) compared with the same period last year. Sales in the quarter increased by 36 per cent over the third quarter of 1997 to $8.8 billion. Compaq chairman Mr Eckhard Pfeiffer noted that third-quarter results reflected the combined performances of Compaq and Digital. Compaq has a call centre in Dublin, while Digital employs more than 1,100 people in Galway and Dublin. Compaq completed its acquisition of Digital for $8.4 billion in June and foresaw a third-quarter loss because of a special charge related to the transaction of $4.7 billion.

Since the start of the year, Compaq has posted a pre-tax loss of $3.6 billion against a profit of $1.8 billion in the same period of 1997.