Finisar Swings To Profit; Stock Up On Robust Guidance - Update

(RTTNews) - Fiber optic equipment maker Finisar Corp. (FNSR), Thursday reported a return to profit for the first quarter, on strong sales of Ethernet transceivers for datacom applications, and margins expanded on a favorable product mix. While quarterly earnings were in line with Wall Street estimates, sales beat expectations by a thin margin.

The company forecast a buoyant outlook for the current quarter, sending its shares up nearly 6 percent in after-hours trading on the Nasdaq.

Finisar, based in Sunnyvale, California, posted first-quarter net earnings of $26 million or $0.26 per share, compared with a net loss of $6 million or $0.07 per share last year.

Results for the quarter included one-time charges of $5 million, compared with $17 million in the prior year.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $31 million or $0.31 per share, compared with $11 million or $0.12 per share a year ago..

On average, 14 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.31 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Sales for the quarter climbed 20.7 percent to $266.07 million from $220.5 million a year ago. Analysts expected sales of $266.04 million for the quarter.

The growth came with higher sales of 10G, 40G and 100G Ethernet transceivers for datacom applications.

The company said its new products for 100 gigabit parallel and serial applications continue to have strong demand.

Results were propped up by gross margin that climbed to 34.3 percent from 26.2 percent last year. Operating margin was 10.2 percent, while it was a negative 2.4 percent a year ago.

Finisar estimates second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.37 to $0.41 per share and sales of $277 million to $292 million. Analysts expect earnings of $0.31 per share on sales of $272.95 million for the quarter.

Finisar shares closed Thursday at $22.84, up $0.34 or 1.51%, on a volume of 4 million shares. In after hours, the stock gained $1.33 or 5.82%.