POLISHING THE APPLE

Apple Computer Inc.'s Q2 net profit fell by more than half from a year earlier, as the Cupertino, CA, computer company's boss tried to distance himself from reports he wants to acquire all or part of Universal Music Group from Vivendi Universal.

In a released statement yesterday (reported in our Rumor Mill), Jobs said the company "has never made any offer to invest or acquire a major music company," though he didn't say outright that Apple wasn't in negotiations with UMG about a potential bid.

Apple's stock has declined about 8% from its $14.37 close last Thursday, trading Wednesday at $13.24, as investors questioned the rationale for a deal.

Meanwhile, the company reported net income of $14 million, or four cents a share, for its second quarter ended 3/29. It was Apple's first profit after two consecutive quarterly net losses, but the result was down 65% compared with a net of $40 million, or 11 cents a share, a year earlier. Apple generated revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, down 1.3% from $1.5 billion a year earlier and slightly below analyst predictions of $1.5 billion.

Analysts said the results and outlook showed that while its business is holding up, a pickup isn't expected, even though the company is about to announce the roll-out of an online-music service for Mac and iPod users.