Agere Systems Posts Quarterly Loss, Plans to Slash Work Force by 11%
A WSJ.COM News Roundup
ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- Agere Systems Inc. posted a fiscal second-quarter loss as revenue growth stalled, and said it plans to lay off 2,000 employees, or 11% of its work force.
The company on Tuesday reported a net loss for the quarter of $148 million, or 15 cents a share, compared with net income of $65 million, or six cents a share, in the year-earlier period.
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Excluding certain items -- such as goodwill and acquired intangibles, purchased in-process research and development, restructuring and separation charges and income tax adjustments -- pro forma profit for the second quarter was $4 million, or break-even on a per-share basis. That compares with profit of $83 million, or five cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.
The per-share results assume that 1.635 billion shares were outstanding for all periods. Agere, formerly the Microelectronics Group of Lucent, recently completed its initial public offering.
Revenue for the quarter, which ended March 31, was $1.19 billion, up 12% from $1.07 billion a year earlier, but down 13% sequentially from the fiscal first quarter.
"Our second quarter results reflect continued weakness in the communications market," said John Dickson, president and chief executive, in prepared remarks. "Despite current conditions, we remain confident about the long-term growth opportunity for our business," he said.
Agere said it now expects revenue in the current quarter, which ends in June, to be 14% to 20% lower than in the quarter ended March, resulting in revenue of between $950 million and $1.025 billion. The decline reflects the lower spending by telecommunications carriers, Agere said. Agere also expects a weaker bottom line, and expects to post a loss, excluding items, of between six cents and eight cents a share.
Agere said the majority of the eliminated jobs are based in Agere's manufacturing facilities in Allentown, Breinigsville and Reading, Pa.; Irwindale, Calif.; and Orlando, Fla. Agere currently employs about 18,500 people world-wide |
