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Earnings Roundup: PairGain falters; Veritas thrives

2 min read

PairGain Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: PAIR) continued its unfettered fall Thursday after missing analysts' estimates for the third consecutive quarter.

The maker of DSL networking systems posted a loss of $4.2 million, or 6 cents a share, on sales of $51.2 million.

Earlier this quarter, company officials warned that shipping delays of its Avidia systems would result in disappointing sales and a loss in the quarter.

Analysts lowered their collective estimate to a loss of 5 cents a share but it wasn't low enough.

The $51.2 million in sales represents a staggering 33 percent decline compared to the year-ago quarter when it earned $12 million, or 16 cents a share, on sales of $76.4 million.

It gets worse.

Gross profit margins fell to 35 percent in the quarter, down from 41 percent in the second quarter when it pocketed $3.5 million, or 5 cents a share, on sales of $61.2 million.

PairGain shares hit a 52-week high of 16 1/8 in May after falling to a low of 6 1/8 in December.

Despite its recent woes, nine of the 17 analysts following the stock steadfastly maintain either a "buy" or "strong buy" recommendation.

Among other technology companies reporting earnings Thursday:

  • Veritas Software Corp. (Nasdaq: VRTS) cruised past analysts' estimates in its third quarter Thursday, raking in $38.9 million, or 21 cents a share, on sales of $183.4 million.

    First Call consensus pegged the software developer for a profit of 17 cents a share.

    Company officials delivered even better news to investors by declaring a 3-for-2 stock split.

    The $183.4 million in sales represents a 75 percent improvement compared to the year-ago quarter when it made $17.1 million, or 9 cents a share, on sales of $105.1 million.

    The stock closed off 1 21/32 to 81 15/32 ahead of the earnings report. >