Inktomi sees 1Q disappointment

Lower your expectations for the first quarter of Inktomi (Nasdaq: INKT).

After market close Wednesday, the vendor of technology for network caching, search engines and comparison shopping said it now expects to report bottom line results ranging between breakeven and a 1 cent per share profit, on revenue of $80 million to $81 million in the first quarter. The company previously expected to earn 2 to 3 cents per share, on revenue of $89 million to $91 million.

First Call's analyst forecast was predicting a profit of 3 cents per share on revenue of $89.4 million for Inktomi's December quarter.

Shares of Inktomi fell to 18 in afterhours activity on the Island electronic communications network, following the preannouncement. Inktomi rose 3.9375 to 18.5 in Wednesday's regular trading ahead of the news.

Inktomi executives blamed the economy.

"The current conditions in the U.S. capital markets and the broader economy have resulted in a slowdown in infrastructure spending," said David Peterschmidt, chairman and CEO. "Accordingly, we are adjusting our estimates for the current quarter. While our business will be affected by macro-economic conditions in the near-term, we are confident in the long-term outlook for our infrastructure products and services."

Wednesday's announcement proved at least one analyst correct. Robertson Stephens analyst Dane Lewis earlier this week downgraded several Internet infrastructure stocks, including Inktomi, on fears of lower spending on information technology.>