Juniper edges estimates

July 12, 2001 Posted: 2323 GMT

NEW YORK (CNNfn) -- Juniper Networks Inc. beat lowered second quarter earnings expectations by a penny Thursday, with revenues just below the company's revised forecast, and said that second-half revenues will be flat with the just completed quarter.

Juniper, the maker of hardware and software that directs data over the Internet, reported net income before one-time charges of $29.3 million, or 9 cents per share, compared to net income of $28.6 million, or 8 cents per share in the year-ago period.

Juniper's (JNPR: Research, Estimates) revenues for the quarter rose 79 percent from the same period a year ago to $202.2 million.

Analysts surveyed by First Call expected the company to earn 8 cents per share on revenues of about $219 million.

"The second quarter represents an example of our priorities during these times – customer growth, financial discipline, and continued investment in innovation," said Scott Kriens, Juniper chairman and CEO, in a statement.

Chief Financial Officer Marcel Gani told analysts on a conference call that revenues for the current quarter would likely be flat from second quarter. Revenues for the full 2001 fiscal year would be between $940 million and $950 million, he said. That range is slightly below the $965 million revenue forecast by analysts polled by First Call.

Juniper now expects third-quarter earnings of 9 cents per share before charges and 10 cents per share in the fourth quarter, Gani said. It was the first time the company has detailed second-half forecasts. Those profit projections are in line with the range of analysts' expectations.  

Shares of Juniper rose 88 cents to $29.35 after hours.

In June the company warned that its second-quarter results would be well below Wall Street forecasts, and said it would cut up to 9 percent of its work force.

Juniper said it expected to earn 8 or 9 cents a share for the quarter excluding one-time items, well below Wall Street forecasts at the time of 24 cents a share. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company also said sales would be about $205 million versus its previous forecast of about $315 million.

Networking companies have been hard hit by the economic downturn in North America and Europe, with customers deferring or canceling new-equipment orders.

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