Election Section

POWAY — Computer maker Gateway Inc. posted a $46.8 million quarterly loss on Thursday and said tough market conditions would widen losses for the entire year. 

After factoring out one-time items, Gateway said it lost 15 cents a share in the third quarter, matching Wall Street’s expectations, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call. 

Still, Gateway’s showing beat last year’s results. In the same period a year ago, the suburban San Diego-based company reported a far wider loss — $519 million or $1.61 per share. 

Gateway officials widened the computer maker’s pretax loss forecast to between $310 million and $330 million for the year, excluding special charges. Earlier, the company estimated a pretax loss of between $200 million and $250 million. 

“We are cautious on our outlook for the fourth quarter given uncertainty surrounding the economy and the holiday selling season,” said Rod Sherwood, chief financial officer at Gateway, the world’s No. 4 computer maker.