QLogic (23-25.50) 2nd-qtr profit rises, sets share buyback
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Wednesday October 16, 5:17 pm ET
(Adds details, after-hours stock price)
ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Oct 16 (Reuters) - Storage networking equipment maker QLogic Corp. (NasdaqNM:QLGC - News) posted a larger quarterly net profit on Wednesday and said it would buy back up to $100 million of its stock over the next two years.
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The shares jumped higher in after-hours trading on the news, rising 6.8 percent to $24.94 on Instinet from a close of $23.36 on Nasdaq. The stock had closed down 11.5 percent on Nasdaq ahead of the earnings report.
QLogic reported a net profit of $23 million, or 24 cents per share, for the fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 29, compared with a year-earlier profit of $15.9 million, or 17 cents per share.
Excluding charges, the company posted a profit of $27 million, or 28 cents per share. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for earnings per share of 26 cents, with a range of 25 cents to 28 cents.
The Aliso Viejo, California-based company had revenue of $107.1 million, compared with $80.9 million a year-earlier.
Gross margins in the quarter were 63 percent, almost unchanged from 63.2 percent in the prior quarter.
The company said it was initiating the stock buyback because it considers its shares a good investment. QLogic shares reached a 52-week high in January of $57.10 and fell to a 52-week low of $19.66 on Oct. 8.
At the end of the third quarter, QLogic had $571.9 million in cash and investments and 93.4 million shares of common stock outstanding. |
