11/27 19:03
Finisar Moving Manufacturing to Malaysia; Loss Widens (Update1)
By Lisa Levenson
Sunnyvale, California, Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Finisar Corp., a maker of fiber-optic equipment for computer networks, said it is moving manufacturing to Malaysia and that its fiscal second- quarter loss widened as sales declined 21 percent. The stock fell as much as 15 percent in after-hours trading.
The loss widened to $55.4 million, or 31 cents a share, in the quarter ended Oct. 31, from $22.5 million, or 15 cents, in the year-earlier period, the company said in a statement. Sales fell to $35.1 million from $44.5 million.
Finisar eliminated about 100 jobs in the U.S. during the quarter and added about 500 jobs at its Malaysian factory as it moved more work there, Chief Executive Officer Jerry Rawls said on a conference call with analysts. The Sunnyvale, California-based company is shifting work overseas to reduce costs as the declining U.S. economy reduces sales.
Finisar believes it saw ``the bottom during the first quarter ended July 31, 2001,'' Rawls said in the statement. ``In the meantime, we are aggressively moving our manufacturing operations to Malaysia, completing the development of a number of important new products and continuing to make inroads at new customers.''
Shares of Finisar rose 1 cent to $12.73. The company released its results following the end of regular U.S. trading. Shares fell as low as $10.85 in after-hours trading.
Excluding deferred compensation costs, merger-related expenses, inventory adjustments, non-recurring gains and certain other costs, the loss would have been $9.1 million, or 5 cents a share, the company said in the statement. Finisar was expected to have a loss of 5 cents a share, the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call.
(Finisar held a conference call at 5 p.m. New York time today. To listen to a replay of the Webcast, see finisar.com.) |
