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| Tuesday, July 25, 2006 |
Agere Systems Inc., a maker of chips for telecom equipment and hard disk drives, said Tuesday that fiscal third-quarter earnings declined due to lower revenue and tax benefits, although results came in ahead of expectations.
Net income dropped to $47 million, or 27 cents per share, from $120 million, or 65 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding tax benefits of $27 million in the latest quarter and $120 million last year, the company earned $37 million, or 22 cents per share, compared with $43 million, or 23 cents per share, for the 2005 period.
Revenue slid to $382 million from $433 million last year.
The results beat analyst expectations for operating profit of 16 cents per share, though Wall Street was looking for higher sales of $399.9 million, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.
Separately, the company authorized a new $200 million share buyback plan.
Richard Clemmer, president and CEO, said, "Agere Systems turned in a solid third quarter, demonstrating the leverage we have created in our business model and the clear progress we are making in our turnaround plan. Moreover, we expanded our customer base during the quarter, giving us a firm foundation for driving revenue growth."
Looking ahead, Agere said it forecasts operating earnings of 21 cents to 26 cents per share on revenue of $375 million to $400 million. Wall Street is predicting earnings, excluding items, or 21 cents per share on higher sales of $405.6 million. |
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