Ciena Corp., a provider of telecommunications and network gear, posted a loss of $24.5 million for its first quarter on Thursday on a steep drop in sales and hefty charges related to its restructuring and other expenses.
Ciena said tough economic conditions forced its customers to cut back their orders during the quarter.
The results fell short of Wall Street expectations. Citing economic volatility, the company said it could not release sales guidance for the fiscal second quarter.
The report comes a day after Ciena said it would cut 200 jobs, or about 9 percent of its total work force, and close a Massachusetts facility over the next four months.
For the quarter ended Jan. 31, Ciena's loss amounted to 27 cents per share in contrast to a profit of $28.8 million, or 28 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.
Excluding restructuring, litigation, stock-option and other charges, along with a gain on marketable debt investments, the company posted an adjusted loss of $8.3 million, or 9 cents per share, compared with an adjusted profit of $49.6 million, or 47 cents per share, the year-ago period.
Sales dropped 26 percent to $167.4 million from $227.4 million in the fiscal 2008 period.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of 7 cents per share, excluding the one-time items, on $171.7 million in revenue.
