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To: Night Writer who wrote (92189)	7/17/2001 6:41:32 PM
From: Night Writer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

Proxim Q2 profit 3 cents before charges (updates throughout) SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 15 (Reuters) - Proxim Inc. <PROX.O>, whose products let computers share high-speed Internet access without wires, posted a second-quarter net loss of $54.1 million after one-time write-offs of $44 million with additional charges expected to come. Before charges, the chief backer of a wireless technology called HomeRF, said it earned $801,000, or 3 cents a share on a pro forma basis, in the quarter ended June 30, which was at the low end of sharply reduced expectations. In the second quarter of 2000, Proxim posted a pro forma profit of just under 3.3 million, or 11 cents per share. In late June, Proxim said it expected a pro-forma profit between 3 cents and 7 cents per share, well off the consensus analyst estimate of 16 cents per share, as measured by research firm Thomson Financial/First Call. Second quarter revenues dipped to $23.3 million from $24.5 million in the year ago quarter. During the quarter, Proxim recorded write-offs of $44 million for excess and obsolete products, but said it will take additional charges for the reduced value of acquisitions of three companies, WaveSpan, Farallon and a business unit of Siemens AG <SIEGn.DE>, due to the current economic outlook. Including the provisions, charges, amortization and goodwill recognized as of Tuesday, Proxim posted the second quarter net loss of $54.1 million, or $2.00 a share, compared to net income of $387,000, or 1 cent per diluted share in the year ago quarter, which also included one-time costs. The company said when the full extent of reducing the value of the three acquisitions is known, it will disclose the additional charges in its quarterly statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Despite booming interest in wireless data networking, HomeRF has been battered by growth of a competing system called Wi-Fi, backed by technology giants including Cisco Systems Inc. <CSCO.O> and Compaq Computer Corp. <CPQ.N> In March, Proxim stock sank following reports that Intel Corp. <INTC.O> had switched allegiance to Wi-Fi from HomeRF. Wi-Fi, the de facto corporate standard for wireless networking, has made sharp inroads in the burgeoning market for home networks that link PCs and other appliances. Proxim shares traded lower than $6.00 in March, rose to more than $18.00 in May, but retreated again in late June following its revised profit expectations. Shares of Proxim ended down 55 cent at $10.50 on Monday in Nasdaq trading. The stock has underperformed the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> by more than 60 percent since the beginning of the year.