MRVC gets NO respect!!!!!
Communications' Biggest Bottleneck
By Kevin Petrie
Staff Reporter
03/15/99 11:12 AM ET
Faster is better. That's why fiber-optic networks, brimming
with rivers of email messages and Web pages, are looking
for ways to squeeze out more bandwidth. Companies such
as Ciena (CIEN:Nasdaq), Alcatel (ALA:NYSE) and Lucent
(LU:NYSE) are working on a number of products to pack
more light waves into each optical fiber.
The result is a backlog of orders for the optical components
built by Uniphase (UNPH:Nasdaq), its merger partner JDS
Fitel (JDS:Toronto), SDL (SDLI:Nasdaq) and E-Tek
(ETEK:Nasdaq). Their arcane pump lasers, filters and
amplifiers are the most scarce technology in the
communications business.
"We're ramping manufacturing as hard as we can, but at the
same time demand continues to grow," says Kevin
Kalkhoven, CEO of Uniphase, a leading builder of several
components based in San Jose, Calif. "That's our biggest
challenge right now," echoes Donald Scifres, CEO of SDL, a
maker of pump lasers based in San Jose, Calif.
Both Uniphase and SDL have more than doubled their unit
output in the last year.
The stocks are breathing some rarefied air on Wall Street.
Uniphase shares cracked 100 Thursday, then settled to 99
7/8 at Friday's close. Uniphase has gained roughly 200%
since October and increased by more than 10 times since
1995. Its merger partner, JDS Fitel, has quadrupled since
October on the Toronto exchange. SDL has more than
quintupled since October and added 2 1/16 to end at 65 3/4
Friday. |
