ALAMEDA, Calif., Nov 5 (Reuters) - Ascend Communications
Inc's (NASDAQ:ASND) treasurer said Wednesday sales will increase
between five and 10 percent each quarter sequentially for the
next two quarters.
Sequential revenue growth will increase closer to 10
percent in the second half of 1998, said Bernie Schneider,
Ascend treasurer and corporate vice president.
"We see revenue increasing in the mid- to high single-digit
range for the next couple of quarters," he said.
Schneider also said Ascend likely will cut the list prices
of its access concentrators -- a telecommunications device that
accounts for about 50 percent of Ascend's sales -- by 20 to 30
percent in the next few quarters. But the company expects to
offset the price cut with a decrease in costs, he said.
Ascend earlier this week told investors that consolidation
among Internet service providers, its chief customers, is
causing "fluctuations" in demand for its devices, but overall
demand remains strong.
"We don't believe that the fluctuations will impede our
ability to show sequential growth," Schneider said.
Ascend has seen its sales growth slow in recent months amid
steeper competition and slower demand abroad. In the third
quarter, the company's revenue and profits were significantly
below what Wall Street expected.
At the American Electronics Association conference in San
Diego earlier this week, Ascend executives told investors they
remain bullish about Ascend's long-term outlook, but sales
growth may be slower in coming quarters than the rate of growth
the company has reported in recent quarters. |
