Carrier Access to report 3Q shortfall

Look for lower-than-expected third quarter profits from Carrier Access (Nasdaq: CACS).

After market close Tuesday, the vendor of equipment for high-speed Internet access networks said it sees third quarter earnings ranging between 15 cents and 18 cents per share, not counting acquisition-related charges. First Call's survey of seven analysts predicted a profit of 32 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30.

Shares of Carrier Access tumbled to 11.25 in afterhours activity on the Island electronic communications network, immediately following the third quarter warning. Carrier Access stock closed Tuesday's regular trading at 20.875, up 0.9375 for the session.

Carrier Access sees third quarter revenue ranging between $38 million and $45 million. Several orders did not close as expected before the quarter ended, the company said.

Also blamed were an unexpectedly slow start of sales to traditional local phone companies and long distance providers, and disappointing sales to certain competitive local exchange carriers.

CEO Roger Koenig described the third quarter letdown as an "isolated" event. "We continue to be encouraged by the diversity of our customer base and value proposition our products bring," said Koenig, also the company's president.>