Financial statements from a string of US computer and telecom firms have signalled that the long-awaited tech sector recovery could still be some way off.

Computer maker Gateway, network specialist Sun Microsystems, and telecoms equipment maker Nortel on Thursday all reported earnings in line with or slightly ahead of analysts' expectations.

But all three said sales were down, and were unable to predict with any confidence when demand would pick up again.

The tech giants' latest results suggest that consumers and businesses across the US are still reining in spending on lucrative IT and telecoms equipment.

Gateway's ray of hope

Personal computer manufacturer Gateway managed to cut its losses to $123m during the three months to March, 75% down on the same period one year earlier.

But the company admitted that sales were also sharply lower.

The company sold just 645,000 machines in the US, 30% fewer than it did during the first three months of 2000.

Gateway offered a ray of hope, saying that its sales were down by an untypically slim 5% on the previous three-month period, when revenues were boosted by Christmas spending.

It predicted that sales for the next three months would be flat, compared with a historical decline of 5%, but investors weren't convinced.

Gateway shares closed 9 cents lower at $6.20.

Nortel's sales woes

Nortel's results painted a similar picture, with losses falling by nearly 80% on the year to $841m, while sales slumped 49% to $2.9bn.

Nortel shares closed slightly higher at $4.04.

Sun Microsystems put in a better sales performance, but here too, revenues were down by a quarter on the same period one year earlier at $3.1bn.

Sun and Nortel, who number governments and major corporations among their clients, are particularly dependent on major IT and telecoms investment projects.

Sun also lost money overall, racking up narrower than expected losses of $37m after one-off costs.

The company said it planned to cut 1,000 jobs from its staff of approximately 39,000 over the next six to nine months.

Sun's shares fell 3 cents to $8.16 in after-hours trade.

In other tech sector news, computer maker Compaq beat analysts' forecasts with a $44m profit for the January to March period, compared with a $131m loss one year earlier.

But Compaq's sales were also down, falling 16% at on the year at $7.7bn

Its shares closed 14 cents higher at $10.82.

Nasdaq lag

The Nasdaq index of technology stocks closed 0.46% lower at 1,802.43 on Thursday, pressured in part by lower than expected profits from software giant and technology bellwether Microsoft.

The Nasdaq has struggled to hang onto gains in recent weeks, despite growing signs of a rebound in the wider US economy.

On 21 February, the index lost 3% in a single day as investors took note of the lag between the performance of the tech sector and that of the rest of the economy.

The latest set of corporate results will do little to revive it.