Agilent reported first-quarter 2001 earnings that beat analysts' expectations Tuesday but warned of a rough second quarter.
The company, a
Hewlett-Packard
(HWP)
spinoff that makes test and measurement equipment, posted earnings of $237 million, or 51 cents a share, up from $143 million, or 31 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Ten analysts queried by
First Call/Thomson Financial
were expecting earnings of 50 cents a share.
Agilent reported revenue of $2.8 billion, up 26% from the year-ago period.
The company, which is based in Palo Alto, Calif., said the economic slowdown could make the second quarter difficult. ``We expect the second quarter to be especially challenging, given the current economic situation and over-capacity and inventory adjustments in many of our key markets,'' the company said.
Revenue growth for the year will be between 10% and 15%, with earnings margins of 5.5% to 7.5%, executives forecast.
Analysts are expecting full-year earnings of $2.39 a share vs. earnings of $1.76 a share posted for the last fiscal year, according to First Call/Thomson Financial.
Agilent lost $6, or 12%, to close at $44 during regular trading on the
New York Stock Exchange
. In after-hours
Island
trading, shares were recently trading at $43.56.
