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Non-Tech : EARNINGS REPORTING - surprises, misses & more -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SusieQ1065 who wrote (717)	7/20/2001 7:46:20 PM
From: SusieQ1065	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 762

PLXS ($28-$32) Meets and Reaffirms Guidance. Thursday July 19, 8:34 pm Eastern Time Plexus shares rally after holding Q4 guidance steady LOS ANGELES, July 19 (Reuters) - Shares of contract manufacturing firm Plexus Corp. (NasdaqNM:PLXS - news) surged by 16 percent on Thursday after reporting a fiscal third quarter profit in line with Wall Street expectations and affirmed guidance for the current quarter, despite the industry-wide slump. Shares in Plexus closed up 16 percent at $32.05 on Nasdaq, the largest single-day gain in over three months. Plexus shares, which bottomed at $23.00 in early April, are up about 5 percent since the start of the year. ``I thought the numbers looked pretty good,'' said Lou Miscioscia, an analyst at Lehman Brothers. The key issue for investors in the contract manufacturing sector remains when the sector, which specializes in making electronic devices for brand-name companies, will find a bottom after several wrenching quarters of shedding production capacity and workers amid slowing demand. The fact that Plexus held guidance steady for the current quarter --forecasting sales of $250 million to $270 million, almost flat with the year-earlier-- could be a sign that the company was approaching the bottom of the cycle, Miscioscia said. ``We feel like we're in a trough,'' said Tom Sabol, chief financial officer of Plexus, in an interview. ``We would say we don't know how long this trough is going to last.'' The Neenah, Wis.-based company reported earnings excluding one-time charges of $8.88 million, or 21 cents a share, compared with $11.14 million, or 28 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Sales for the quarter ended June 30 were $253.2 million, up 31 percent from the year-ago quarter. The average estimate of 19 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call had been for earnings per share of 21 cents, with a range of 19 cents to 24 cents. The company forecast sales of $250 million to $270 million in the current quarter, almost flat compared with sales of $249.4 million a year-earlier. Plexus said earnings per share would be in the range of 18 cents to 22 cents. The average estimate of 19 analysts surveyed by First Call had been for earnings of 23 cents a share. The largest segment of sales for Plexus in the June quarter was to the networking and data industry, which accounted for 38 percent of sales, the company said. Unisphere Networks, Inc. (NasdaqNM:UNSP - news), a unit of Siemens AG which makes data networking equipment, was the company's largest customer, accounting for 11 percent of sales.