F5 Networks Misses 1Q Profit Estimates
AP - Wednesday January 24, 4:39 pm ET
F5 Networks Fiscal 1st-Quarter Profit, 2nd-Quarter View Come in Below Wall Street Estimates
SEATTLE (AP) -- Networking equipment company F5 Networks Inc. on Wednesday reported a fiscal first-quarter profit and second-quarter outlook below Wall Street's expectations, sending shares sharply lower in after-hours electronic trading.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, the company earned $22.4 million, or 53 cents per share, up from $15.2 million, or 37 cents per share, in the same period a year before.
Sales rose 36 percent to $120 million from $88.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2006.
Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 60 cents per share on sales of $118.2 million, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.
For the current quarter, F5 expects earnings between 44 cents and 46 cents per share on sales of $124 million to $126 million.
Analysts are looking for second-quarter earnings of 62 cents per share on sales of $123.3 million.
Shares rose $1.03 to end the Nasdaq session at $74.48, then plunged $6.88, or 9.2 percent, to $67.60 in after-hours trading. The stock has traded between $40.55 and $80.85 over the past year.
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