11/28 19:05
ADC Reports 4th-Quarter Loss; Sales Fall 62 Percent (Update3)
By Justin Baer
Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- ADC Telecommunications Inc., a maker of telephone equipment, had a fiscal fourth-quarter loss as sales fell 62 percent amid plunging demand for its networking gear.
The company also said first-quarter sales will decline more than analysts had forecast.
ADC's loss was $176.9 million, or 22 cents a share, in the quarter ended Oct. 31, compared with net income of $87.1 million, or 11 cents, a year earlier. Sales fell to $391.6 million.
Phone companies slashed their spending on gear and software this year to cut costs after fewer businesses and consumers ordered services. The slowdown forced ADC to eliminate 10,000 jobs and reduce forecasts for sales of its products, which range from high-speed Internet connection equipment to lasers and other parts found in fiber-optic networking gear.
``Based on what we've heard from almost everyone, things had continued to degrade through the quarter,'' said Peter Conrad, an analyst with Kopp Investment Advisors, which owns ADC shares.
Shares of ADC, based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, rose 8 cents to $4.78. They fell to $4.65 in after-hours trading following the announcement. The stock is down from a high of $49 set in July 2000. |
