Razorfish reduces 4Q targets

Razorfish (Nasdaq: RAZF) cut its fourth quarter expectations.

After market close Tuesday, the Internet consultant said it now expects to lose 17 to 22 cents per share in the quarter ended Dec. 31, excluding amortization and a one-time charge related to a previously announced restructuring moves. First Call's survey of a dozen analysts had been predicting a fourth quarter profit of 2 cents per share.

Shares of Razorfish fell to 2.1875 in afterhours activity on the Island electronic communications network, following the warning. Razorfish rose 0.53125 to 3.09375 in Tuesday's regular session, prior to the fourth quarter preannouncement.

The company sees fourth quarter revenue of about $50 million.

Tuesday's announcement marks the second warning since October. Internet services firms in recent months have been ravaged as dot-coms shut down and traditional companies cut back on spending, or take longer to evaluate projects.

Razorfish underestimated the impact of those changes, CEO Jeff Dachis said.

"As a result, we overestimated the visibility of our pipeline and our performance expectations," he said. "Despite the market shift, we still believe that the underlying trends and strengths of our business model remain in place."

No staff reductions are planned, Dachis said.>