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Technology Stocks : Ciena (CIEN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jghutchison who wrote (8911)	5/18/2000 7:00:00 PM
From: jghutchison	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12623

It appears that the unannounced customer is Williams. Paying cash this time. Emphasis added _ JGH Ciena 2nd-Qtr Profit Rises as Sales Jump 66% on Order (Update1) By Erik Schatzker Linthicum, Maryland, May 18 (Bloomberg) -- Ciena Corp., a maker of equipment to boost the capacity of fiber-optic networks, said its fiscal second-quarter profit rose 36-fold, spurred by new business from Qwest Communications International Inc. Net income rose to $18.4 million, or 12 cents a share, from profit from operations of $500,000, or break even, in the year-ago period. The average estimate in a First Call/Thomson Financial poll of analysts was 10 cents. Revenue in the quarter ended April 30 jumped 66 percent to $185.7 million from $111.5 million. Ciena has rebounded from a dismal 1998, when its products were rejected by AT&T Corp. and its plan to merge with Tellabs Inc. collapsed. It's now a contender with Nortel Networks Corp. and Lucent Technologies Inc. for equipment orders, and won the Qwest contract after Lucent had to remove its products. ``Ciena has built a very strong core capability in manufacturing,'' said Chase H&Q analyst Jeff Lipton, who rates Ciena a ``buy.'' ``They're really able to execute now.'' Sales also topped most estimates of about $170 million. Nettles said Ciena is poised to beat expectations for profit in the second half of its fiscal year. It's currently expected to earn 16 cents a share in the third quarter and 22 cents in the fourth. Customers Chief Financial Officer Joe Chinnici said on a conference call that business from a customer Ciena hasn't yet named contributed to sales in the quarter. The company now has 35 customers and its two biggest were responsible for 63 percent of second-quarter sales. Analyst Lipton said he thinks Ciena is selling products to Williams Communications Group Inc. under a contract it hasn't yet announced. Linthicum, Maryland-based Ciena restated year-ago results to reflect the acquisitions of Lightera Networks Inc. and Omnia Communications Inc. Ciena shares fell 6 13/16 to 137 5/16 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The report was released after the close of regular U.S. trading; shares rose as high as 140 after-hours.