Why is he pumping the stock so blatantly?
No word that CWB did not buy Tellium equipment?
No word how Quests capex hiatus impacts further revenue development except present P.Os?
No word on new clients??? "Continues to pursue new customers"... there is no customer.
Tellium CEO: On Path To 'Meet Or Exceed' 2Q Net Goals
Optical switch maker Tellium Inc. (TELM) Chief Executive Harry Carr reiterated Friday that the company expects fourth quarter sales between $44 million and $49 million, and said he is "very comfortable" with Wall Street's estimates calling for a per share loss of 4 cents.
In an interview with Dow Jones Newswires, Carr also said the company is sticking to 2002 sales estimate of about $288 million.
In addition, he said, "we believe we're on a path to meet or exceed (estimated profitability) in the second quarter."
Carr said he has seen nothing in the past several weeks to shake his faith in the company's sales or earnings projections.
"We haven't seen any worsening of conditions," he said.
Tellium reported a loss of 5 cents a share in the third quarter on sales of $40.15 million. A Thomson Financial/First Call survey of analysts shows the company is expected to record sales of $134 million for the year, with sales expected to more than double to almost $288 million next year.
Earlier this month, Tellium's stock shot up more than 17% in one day of trading after the company reiterated sales estimates for the fourth quarter and 2002.
Tellium's stock, like many of its peers in the optical equipment space, has been battered since its IPO this spring. Most of that is the result of capital spending cuts by communications service providers, who have trimmed their budgets as Wall Street has taken a new liking to cash and competition from startup phone companies has diminished. Tellium's stock most recently traded down 2%, or 14 cents, to $6.92, with volume at 1.3 million compared to the daily average of 2.1 million. Tellium shares have dropped about 76% from their peak of $29.73 in May.
Investors have also been concerned about Tellium's exposure to Qwest Communications International Inc. (Q), which halted construction on its worldwide network at the beginning of the month in order to cut costs.
Carr said that Wall Street's concerns about the effect that decision would have on Tellium's sales were overblown.
"We got Qwest's stop-work order on (Oct. 31)," he said. "By the time it was made public (Nov. 2), any of the purchase orders (for Tellium's products) that had been stopped were reinstated."
Carr, like other next-generation optical equipment makers, believes large communications service providers will curtail spending on legacy equipment - not optical equipment - when they seek to trim spending.
Tellium has three customers; Qwest, Dynegy Inc. (DYN) and Cable & Wireless PLC (CWP).
Carr said he does not expect Dynegy's decision to back out of its merger with Enron Corp. (ENE) to impact its spending plans.
"I think it's going to be a non-issue," he said.
Cable & Wireless has agreed to a five-year equipment deal with Tellium worth a minimum of $350 million. Carr noted that the deal did not specify a begin date.
"We have no predictions for revenue from Cable & Wireless," he said. "We have been very conservative, so it will be a pleasant surprise for our investors."
Carr also said the company continues to pursue new customers.
"We expect, in the next few months, you'll see multiple customer awards," he said.
Tellium, he added, is a company being managed for long-term success. Recently, Tellium extended the lock-up period for 14.7 million shares held by company management until after the company reports fourth quarter results.
"I think that's a pretty strong statement about Tellium's future," Carr said.
Earlier this week, Morgan Stanley analyst Alkesh Shah issued a lengthy report on optical equipment makers, centering on valuations. In it, he said that based on the firm's analysis, Tellium is one of the most attractive stocks, with 124% upside to fair market value. He rates the stock at outperform.
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