Features

San Jose tech co. outlook gloomy

The Associated Press
Tuesday December 11, 2001

SAN JOSE — JDS Uniphase Corp., a leading maker of optical networking components, reaffirmed its gloomy second-quarter sales outlook Monday and predicted more bad news to come. 

As the company said in October, sales for the three months ending Dec. 29 are expected to be 10 percent to 15 percent below the $329 million reported in its fiscal first quarter. 

Analysts were expecting second quarter sales of $286.4 million, or a 12.9 percent drop from the first quarter numbers, according to a survey by Thomson Financial/First Call. 

Last year, JDSU reported second-quarter revenues of $925 million. 

The company also said it expects to bottom out in the third quarter with sales up to 15 percent below the second quarter. It predicts a modest initial recovery. 

JDS Uniphase, which is based in San Jose and Ottawa, was hit hard by the economic downturn as demand for communications equipment withered. It was at the time expanding through acquisitions. 

In the past fiscal year, which ended June 30, the company lost more than $55 billion, mostly the result of writedowns related to companies it acquired. It’s believed to be the largest annual loss ever in U.S. corporate history. 

The company also sliced its work force to about 13,000, down from 29,000 earlier this year. 

Shares of JDS Uniphase closed down 58 cents, or more than 5.5 percent, to $9.95 in Monday trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. 

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On the Net: 

JDS Uniphase: http://www.jdsu.com