Brooktrout says 4Q sales, earnings will miss by a mile

Brooktrout joined the rest of the information technology universe Thursday when it warned that its fourth-quarter sales and earnings will miss analysts’ estimates.

The communications hardware and software firm said it now expects to post a profit of between 3 cents to 5 cents a share in the quarter on sales of $33 million.

First Call Corp. consensus pegged it for a profit of 31 cents a share in the quarter on sales of $41.2 million.

Brooktrout (Nasdaq: BRKT) shares closed up $1, or 10 percent, to $10.88 ahead of the warning but fell to $6 in after-hours trading.

Brooktrout expects sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2001 to come in between $28 million to $30 million with net earnings at around 3 cents to 5 cents a share, barring any further declines in growth of the telecommunications equipment market, it said.

For fiscal 2001, Brooktrout expects sales of $150 million with net income per share between 35 cents and 45 cents.

“While we are disappointed, we know that Brooktrout has weathered tough markets before and can withstand the vagaries of the current economy because Brooktrout is a fundamentally solid company” said President Eric Giler in a prepared release.

Last quarter, Brooktrout posted a profit of $4.7 million, or 36 cents a share, on sales of $41.3 million.

The stock surged to a 52-week high of $50.75 in March before falling to a low of $8 in December.

Three of the five analysts following the stock rate it either a “buy” or “strong buy.”