Ascend 3rd-Qtr Profit Rises 65% on Sales to Phone Companies
Alameda, California, Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Ascend Communications Inc.'s third-quarter profit surged 65 percent as the No. 5 computer-networking company sold more of its powerful computer switches to phone companies.
Ascend said profit before charges for the quarter ended Sept. 30 rose to $66.1 million, or 32 cents a share, from net income of $40.1 million, or 20 cents, in the year-earlier period. The company was expected to earn 31 cents, based on the average estimate of analysts surveyed by First Call Corp.
Sales of the company's asynchronous transfer mode, or ATM, switches, were up sharply from a year ago and now contribute about half of Ascend's revenue. Telecommunication providers are using the equipment to handle increasing data traffic clogging their networks.
''The company is gaining share in the (telecommunications) switching market,'' as said Nikos Theodosopoulos, an analyst at Warburg Dillon Read who rates Ascend ''buy.''
Revenue rose 37 percent to $370.3 million from $270.4 million a year ago.
Ascend shares rose 15/16 to 47 7/8 in trading of 8.8 million. The company announced the results after the close of U.S. trading.
16:37:37 10/19/1998
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