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Technology Stocks : Ascend Communications (ASND) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Alex Jung who wrote (43555)	4/9/1998 11:48:00 PM
From: Johnny	Respond to of 61433

Here's some interesting comments on ASND FOCUS-Ascend reports better-than-expected earnings Reuters, Thursday, April 09, 1998 at 20:00 (Adds analyst comments, background.) ALAMEDA, Calif., April 9 (Reuters) - Ascend Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:ASND) on Thursday reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings on strong sales of its computer-networking equipment to telecommunication companies and online services. Ascend, the fourth-biggest vendor of computer-networking gear, also said it expected strong demand to continue during the rest of the year as more consumers connect their personal computers to the Internet. After the market closed, Ascend said it earned $52.4 million, or 26 cents a share on a diluted basis, compared with a loss of $163.2 million, or 88 cents, in the same quarter a year ago. Wall Street had expected Ascend, based in Alameda, Calif., to earn 25 cents a share, according to a recent analyst survey by Zacks Investment Research. Revenue for the quarter ended March 31 rose 4.5 percent to $305.1 million from $292.7 million last year. "This quarter showed that Ascend is a good, strong company," said Joe Noel, analyst at Hambrecht & Quist in San Francisco. Ascend, after three quarters of erratic results, is back on track to posting predictable growth, analysts said. Ascend makes software and electronic devices that manage the flow of information through big corporate and public computer networks, like the Internet. It also is one of the biggest supplier of telecommunication equipment to Internet service providers and online services, such as America Online Inc. In the past few quarters, sales of its access concentrators -- devices used by online services to accept calls from subscribers -- were hampered by intense competition with Cisco Systems Inc.(NASDAQ:CSCO), the biggest networking gear vendor. Ascend said sales rose in this quarter partly on strong demand for its access products. North American demand was particularly robust, Ascend said. The company also had solid sales of so-called back-bone equipment -- high-end devices that connect large computer networks. Ascend landed several big contracts during the quarter, including one announced just before the release of earnings. Ascend said the networking unit of GTE Corp. (NYSE:GTE) plans to use several of its asynchronous transfer mode, or ATM, switches to upgrade its Internet and voice networks. Ascend said it expected the strong demand to continue for the rest of the year as more people sign up for connections to the Internet and spend more time on their PCs. The market opportunities for its consumer-oriented products "are significant," the company said. Company executives told analysts that Ascend likely would be able to match Wall Street's earning per share forecast of $1.15 for the year, Noel said. The company also "endorsed" the revenue estimate of $1.4 billion for 1998, Noel said. Before the earnings news, Ascend shares fell 81 cents to $39.875 in Nasdaq trading. kourosh@tibco.com)) Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service