ANTEC plummets on 4Q warning

Shares of ANTEC Corp. (Nasdaq: ANTC) were sliced by 20 percent Friday on the news that the company now expects a loss in its fourth quarter because of a delay in shipments to its largest customer, AT&T Broadband (NYSE: T).

The communication technology firm's shares, which fell over 8 percent at market close yesterday, continued their freefall, dropping 1.75 to 7 in pre-session trading on the Island ECN network.

As a result of AT&T Broadband's decision to halt delivery of pending orders, ANTEC said it was forced to cut its estimates.

The company now sees fourth quarter revenues between $180 million and $190 million, with loss per share in the 9 to 13 cent range. First Call Corp.'s estimate was for a profit of 14 cents per share for the period.

ANTEC also lowered its numbers for fiscal year 2001 with earnings per share now pegged at between 60 and 70 cents, on revenues of $1.0 billion to $1.1 billion. The Street's earnings forecast for the period was $1.11 per share.

Separately, ANTEC said its planned acquisition of Nortel Networks Corp.'s (NYSE: NT) stake in Arris Interactive will go through early in the new year. However, market conditions have forced the company to secure new financing arrangements.

Reuters contributed to this report.