KLA-Tencor Posts Bigger Than Expected 3Q Loss

MILPITAS, Calif. (AP) — Chip manufacturing equipment maker KLA-Tencor Corp. posted a fiscal third-quarter loss of nearly $83 million, worse than Wall Street analysts expected, as sharply lower sales and restructuring and acquisition charges hurt results.

For the three months ended March 31, KLA-Tencor reported a loss of $82.8 million, or 49 cents per share. That compares with a profit of nearly $111 million, or 61 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

The latest quarter's results were hurt by a $19.3 million restructuring charge. On March 30, the company said it was laying off another 10 percent of its global work force, and planned to consolidate facilities. That announcement followed a November disclosure of plans to cut 900 jobs from what had been a 6,000-strong work force.

KLA-Tencor also recorded $16.7 million in acquisition-related charges in the latest quarter.

Not counting those charges and other one-time items, KLA-Tencor's loss was $58.3 million, or 34 cents per share.

On that basis, the loss was wider than the consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who expected a loss of 26 cents per share, on average.