Ciena Shares Tumble On Big Earnings Miss

(RTTNews) - Network specialist Ciena Corp. (CIEN) reported Thursday a loss for the fourth quarter that narrowed from last year, despite lower margins, reflecting lower charges and double-digit revenue growth.

However, adjusted earnings per share missed analysts' expectations, while quarterly revenues topped their estimates. The company also provided revenue guidance for the first quarter, in line with Street view.

Following the announcement, the company's stock is down nearly 11 percent in pre-market trading.

Separately, the company will switch its Nasdaq listing for one on the NYSE from December 23. The stock symbol will remain "CIEN."

The Linthicum, Maryland-based telecommunications networking equipment maker reported a net loss of $9.80 million or $0.09 per share for the fourth quarter, narrower than $38.77 million or $0.39 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted net income for the quarter was $18.26 million or $0.16 per share, compared to adjusted loss of $6.67 million or $0.07 per share in the year-ago quarter.

On average, 21 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.24 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenues for the quarter grew 25.3 percent to $583.39 million from $465.53 million in the same quarter last year, and topped twenty Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $568.51 million.

The company noted that non-U.S. customers contributed 44.1 percent of the revenues, and one 10 percent-plus customer represented a total of 16.5 percent of quarterly revenues.

Gross margin for the quarter contracted 160 basis points to 39.7 percent from a year ago, and adjusted gross margin declined 190 basis points to 40.8 percent from last year.

For fiscal 2013, the company reported a net loss of $85.43 million or $0.83 per share, narrower than $144.02 million or $1.45 per share in the prior year.

Excluding items, adjusted net loss for the year was $58.98 million or $0.54 per share, compared to adjusted net loss of $23.52 million or $0.24 per share in the year ago. Analysts expected the company to report earnings of $0.63 per share for fiscal 2013.

Net revenues for the full year grew 14 percent to $2.08 billion from $1.83 billion in the previous year. Street was looking for full-year 2013 revenues of $2.07 billion.

"Fiscal 2013 was a strong year for Ciena, with industry-leading revenue growth, record backlog, increased market share, and a three-fold improvement in adjusted operating profit over last year," President and CEO Gary Smith said in a statement.

Looking ahead to the first quarter of fiscal 2014, Ciena expects revenues in a range of $515 million to $545 million. Analysts expect the company to report revenues of $537.67 million for the quarter.

Ciena also said that it anticipates adjusted gross margin for the first quarter to be in the low 40s range.

"This performance validates the strategic market differentiation we've established with our OPn architecture, our unique approach to customer engagement, and our continued technology innovation. These differentiators will help us continue to grow revenue and increase operating leverage in 2014," Smith added.

CIEN closed Wednesday's regular trading session at $22.90, down $0.75 on a volume of 6.99 million shares. In the past 52-week period, the stock has been trading in a range of $14.14 to $27.94.