Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tonka552000 who wrote (2482)	7/17/2002 5:58:04 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 89467

Tellabs posts loss on sales drought By Kelly Quigley Crain's Chicago Business July 17, 2002 Lisle-based Tellabs Inc. on Wednesday said its second-quarter loss narrowed 18.3% over the year-earlier period on lowered operating costs, but that a stubbornly sluggish telecom equipment market played a lead role in the company’s sixth straight quarter of declining sales. The fiber-optic equipment maker reported a net loss of $142.8 million, or 35 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $174.7 million, or 43 cents, a year earlier. Revenues dropped 32.4%, to $344.6 million from $509.4 million from the second quarter 2001, the company said. Excluding restructuring costs of $108 million and an $111-million charge related to excess inventories and purchase commitments, Tellabs recorded a net income of $565,000, or break-even earnings per share for the quarter. “We’re in a tough time and we have to figure out how to deal with that,” Tellabs Chairman and CEO Michael J. Birck during a Wednesday conference call. Mr. Birck said the telecom equipment market is “murky” and he has no idea when it will improve. For now, the company will continue to cut operating costs and trim expenses while developing new products, he said. Tellabs has reduced operating costs by 4% from the first quarter. A spokeswoman said the company is looking for cost savings across the board, but declined to provide specifics. Shares were trading at $6.89 Wednesday morning, near the low end of the 52-week range of $5.57 to $18.28. Tellabs' shares have been in a free-fall since the glory days of the 1990s—when it ended the decade as the second-best-performing stock on Nasdaq. Shares have steadily dropped since late 2000, and have lost 60% in the last year alone. The company has responded with cost-cutting and three rounds of layoffs. Tellabs eliminated a total of 3,750 jobs between December and May, trimming its workforce 38% to about 5,400 from 8,643 in 2000. Tellabs' first-quarter net income plunged 96% to $5.3 million, as sales fell 52% to $371.5 million. The huge decrease in second-quarter earnings reflects the downtrodden “industry environment,” which is forcing many of Tellabs’ customers to pare back orders and reduce capital spending, a spokeswoman said. In June, Tellabs CEO Richard Notebaert abruptly departed and Mr. Birck made an unexpected return as CEO of the company he founded and led for almost three decades. No one knows how long Mr. Birck, who had been en route to retirement before Mr. Notebaert announced his departure, plans to stay. But with no immediate search for a successor under way, experts are betting that Tellabs may be headed for a sale (Crain’s, June 24). ______________________________________ btw, we can all add value in different ways -- this market forces us to be creative though...=)