McDATA Raises Preliminary Revenue and EPS Guidance for Fourth Quarter 2002;
Expects Record Revenue
BROOMFIELD, Colo., Jan. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
McDATA(R) Corporation (NASDAQ:MCDTA, MCDT), the worldwide leader in open,
ultra high-availability storage networking solutions, today revised upward its
fourth-quarter preliminary revenue and earnings per share (EPS) guidance.
McDATA currently expects revenue to be in the range of $104 to $106 million in
the fourth quarter, compared with previous guidance of $84 to $86 million, and
2001 fourth-quarter revenue performance of $93.5 million. As a result of the
higher-than-expected revenue, the company now expects improved pro forma EPS
for the fourth quarter in the range of $0.06 to $0.08, excluding non-cash
deferred compensation and amortization charges. This compares with previous
guidance of breakeven to $0.01, and pro forma 2001 fourth-quarter results of
$0.03. Also, the company now expects to be profitable on a pro forma basis
for the full year 2002. On a reported, or GAAP basis, EPS are expected to be
in a range of $0.05 to $0.07 for the fourth quarter, compared to reported EPS
of $(0.05) in the 2001 fourth quarter.
"McDATA's preliminary fourth-quarter performance reflected a very strong
ramp-up in orders for our recently introduced new products and strong demand
across all channels. Revenue for both the Intrepid(TM) 6000 Series 140-port
Director and the Sphereon 4500 fabric switch was more than double our
expectations for the fourth quarter," said John Kelley, CEO and president of
McDATA. "McDATA's solutions have been developed with our customers' needs in
mind. Our ultra high-availability Director products along with our Sphereon
4500 comprise the best SAN solutions for all customers, including a new set of
small and medium sized enterprises. McDATA remains committed to our vision of
an organization focused on increasing value and service for our customers.
Although we believe we benefited from some year-end seasonal strength, it is
clear that McDATA has gained market share. While we expect typical industry
seasonality in the first quarter of 2003, we have seen continued demand early
in January."
McDATA will report its fourth-quarter 2002 results on January 23, 2003,
when the company will discuss its results in detail and provide additional
information on first quarter guidance. |
