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Technology Stocks : Comverse Technology -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mark Ambrose who wrote (1148)	5/31/2000 6:01:00 PM
From: Mark Ambrose	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1331

UPDATE 1 -Comverse Tech tops forecasts as sales soar biz.yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------------------ Wednesday May 31, 5:32 pm Eastern Time UPDATE 1 -Comverse Tech tops forecasts as sales soar (UPDATE: recasts lead, adds analyst comments, adds chairman's comments, adds after-hours trading, adds byline) By Ilaina Jonas NEW YORK, May 31 (Reuters) - Comverse Technology Inc. (NasdaqNM:CMVT - news), a maker of software systems that allow wireless communications network operators to add services such as messaging, on Wednesday said fiscal first-quarter earnings rose 54 percent, topping expectations, as revenues jumped. For the three months ended April 30, the Israeli-based company said earnings rose to $56.4 million, or 33 cents per diluted share, from $36.6 million, or 24 cents, in the same period a year earlier, excluding a one-time acquisition charge of 1 cents a share. Analysts had expected the company to earn 31 cents per diluted share, according to First Call/Thomson Financial. It was the 24th consecutive quarter the company beat estimates. ``It was solid quarter,'' said U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray analyst Edward Jackson. "It's a very consistent performer. Including the charge in the 1999 quarter, net income rose from $35.6 million, or 23 cents per diluted share, in the comparable period a year earlier. Revenues soared 30 percent to $261.3 million from $200.5 million in the first quarter 1999. ``They're accelerating their top line,'' said Richard Shannon, analyst with John G. Kinnard & Co. ``Although they don't talk about it, they're replacing their competitors.'' Among the company's competitors in the voice mail field are Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:LU - news) and Unisys Corp. (NYSE:UIS - news), Shannon said. Comverse now services more than 330 wireless and wireline telecommunications network operators. ``The acceleration in our sales growth in the first quarter reflects continued strong demand for Comverse's products, particularly among wireless network operators, which account for the majority of our sales,'' Kobi Alexander, Comverse president, chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. Shares of Comverse, whose U.S. headquarters is in Woodbury, N.Y., were at 89 in after-hours trading, down from the 91-3/8 the company closed at in regular trading on the Nasdaq. Comverse software allows telecommunications operators to provide call answering, wireless data and Internet-based information services, and prepaid wireless services. The company also provides software for monitoring company calling centres and enhanced service for 911 emergency centres.