Ciena Reports Fiscal 2Q Loss On Impairment Charge

LINTHICUM, Md. (AP) — Ciena Corp., the telecommunications and network equipment company, said Thursday it lost $503.2 million in its fiscal second quarter, due to a hefty goodwill impairment charge and a steep drop in revenue.

The loss excluding items was larger than analysts expected.

Ciena shares fell 24 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $10.78 in morning trading Thursday.

For the quarter that ended April 30, the company's loss amounted to $5.53 per share compared with a profit of $23.8 million, or 23 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

When excluding items such as the $455.7 million goodwill impairment charge, the company's loss totaled 25 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of 9 cents per share. The estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Ciena said the charge represents the total book value of the goodwill on its balance sheet, and comes from an assessment that took into account factors like current economic environment conditions and a drop in Ciena's stock price and market capitalization.

Ciena was also stung by a nearly 41 percent drop in revenue, which fell to $144.2 million from $242.2 million a year ago and far below the $156.7 million analysts expected.

The company said that products revenue fell 45 percent to $118.8 million, while services revenue dipped 2 percent to $25.4 million.