Sycamore grows on strong revenue
The optical equipment supplier reports second-quarter earnings that exceed analysts' expectations as revenue grows more than five-fold from last year.
Excluding stock and tax payments, pro forma net income for the quarter was $18.1 million, or 6 cents per share, on revenue of $149.2 million. That compares with pro forma net loss of $1.7 million, or 1 cent per share, on revenue of $29 million in the same period in 2000.
Analysts expected Sycamore to earn 5 cents per share, according to First Call.
At the close of regular market trading, Sycamore shares were down more than 2 percent to $22.56. In after-hours trading following the earnings news, Sycamore shares rose nearly 3 percent.
Sycamore Chief Executive Daniel Smith attributed the better-than-expected report to strong revenue growth based on new customers and new products.
"Sycamore's second quarter financial results were highlighted by strong revenue growth and the continued diversification of our customer base," Smith said in a statement.
The quarter marked Sycamore's fourth-straight profitable financial report.
Including charges, second-quarter net income was $13.8 million, or 5 cents a share compared with an actual net loss of $5 million or 3 cents a share last year.
Executives acknowledged that the capital expenses of communications carrier customers are likely to decline this year. But Sycamore executives were largely positive on a conference call with analysts.
"Despite these challenges we remain most optimistic about Sycamore's opportunity and ability to execute," Smith said in a conference call.
Executives left their revenue forecast unchanged and said they expect revenue growth of between 205 percent and 210 percent this year. The company did not raise revenue predictions, executives said, because the potential benefit from new products might be offset by lower overall spending among carrier customers.
Executives said they plan to lower gross profit margins to 45 percent from 47 percent next quarter as a result of new product introductions.
International sales represented more than 20 percent of revenue during the quarter.
The SN 8000, the company's core long-haul optical switching product, accounted for the majority of revenue, according to executives. The SN 6000 contributed "modestly" and the SN 16000, Sycamore's software-based "intelligent" optical switch, will grow to between 10 percent and 15 percent of revenue this year from prior estimates of 5 percent, executives said.
BellSouth and CoreExpress have committed to using the SN 16000.
The SN 10000, Sycamore's ultra-long-haul product, is expected to contribute modestly to revenue during the latter half of the year, as will the SN 3000, a switch designed for metropolitan area networks.