Finisar Posts Sharply Higher Fiscal 1Q Profit

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (AP) — Finisar Corp., a maker of fiber-optic subsystems and other data networking equipment, said Thursday its fiscal first-quarter profit rose sharply, helped by an acquisition and stronger sales.

Net income climbed to $26.0 million, or 2 cents per share, for the three months that ended Aug. 2. That compares with $2.8 million, or a penny per share, during the three months that ended Aug. 3, 2008.

Excluding one-time items, profit dropped to $2.5 million, or zero cents per share, from $10.9 million, or 3 cents per share.

Revenue increased 11 percent to $128.7 million from $115.8 million in the year-earlier period, including an 11 percent rise in revenue from the company's optics business — an increase that reflects the company's acquisition of rival Optium last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected the company to break even on revenue of $129.2 million. Analysts' estimates generally exclude one-time items.

During the quarter, the company completed the sale of its network tools division to JDS Uniphase Corp., which had said it planned to buy the business for about $40.6 million in cash. It was reported as a discontinued operation.