11/28 17:56
Brocade Reports Fourth-Qtr Loss as Switch Sales Drop (Update4)
By John Stebbins
quote.bloomberg.com
San Jose, California, Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Brocade Communications Systems Inc. reported a fiscal fourth-quarter loss as customers trimmed purchases of its high-speed computer switches used in data-storage networks.
The loss in the three months to Oct. 27 was $53.7 million, or 24 cents a share, compared with net income of $27.2 million, or 11 cents, a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Sales dropped 12 percent to $116.5 million from $132.1 million. Fiscal first-quarter forecasts were in line with analysts' estimates.
Sales have slowed as revenue dropped at customers such as EMC Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co., which use Brocade switches to link computer servers and storage systems across long distances. While the economy is in recession, information-technology spending has reached bottom and Brocade is poised for a recovery, an analyst said. The company said on a conference call that first-quarter sales and profit will be ``flat to slightly up.''
``Things are improving. What Brocade is seeing is an extension of what other storage companies have said,'' Mark Kelleher, a First Albany Corp. analyst, said before the release of earnings. ``Things are poised for a recovery next year.''
He rates the shares, which he does not own, ``neutral.''
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