Zacks_Analysts' Blog : JDS Uniphase Tops Estimate - Analyst Blog

Yesterday, after market close, JDS Uniphase Corp. (JDSU) declared solid financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2012. The company, which manufactures broadband and optical networking components for the telecom industry, generated solid top-line and bottom-line growth. As a result, in the after market trade on NASDAQ, stock price of JDS Uniphase was up by 53 cents (4.62%) to $12.01.

Optical Networking component sector is highly competitive. The company competes fiercely with several players, such as Finisar Corp. (FNSR), Oplink Communications Inc. (OPLK), Opnext Inc. (OPXT), and Oclaro Inc. (OCLR), to name a few. Despite competition, JDS Uniphase’s differentiated products gained market traction.

Quarterly net revenue was $420.8 million, up 3.8% year over year, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $415 million. On a GAAP basis, quarterly net loss was $5.8 million or 3 cents per share compared with a net income of $0.1 million or a break-even per share in the year-ago quarter. However, quarterly adjusted (excluding special items) EPS was 13 cents.

Gross margin in the reported quarter was 43.4% compared with 42.8% in the year-ago quarter. In the first quarter, operating expenses were $179.4 million, up 4% from the prior-year quarter. However, quarterly operating income was $3.2 million compared with $0.8 million in the prior-year quarter.  EBITDA in the previous quarter was $46.1 million compared with $44.4 million in the prior-year quarter.

At the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2012, JDS Uniphase had $688.3 million of cash & marketable securities and $290.7 million of outstanding debt on its balance sheet compared with $695.7 million of cash & marketable securities and $285.8 million of outstanding debt on its balance sheet at the end of fiscal 2011. At the end of the reported quarter, debt-to-capitalization ratio was 0.21 compared with 0.21 at the end of fiscal 2011. JDS Uniphase generated $22.9 million of cash from operations in the first quarter.

Revenue Segments

In the first quarter of fiscal 2012, Communications Test and Measurement segment accounted for $185.2 million of revenue, up 1.3% year over year. Communications and Commercial Optical Products segment generated $180.3 million, up 7.3% year over year. Within this segment, Optical Communications revenue was $150.1 million, up 5% from the prior-year quarter and Commercial Lasers business revenue was $30.2 million, up 20.8% from the prior-year quarter. Advanced Optical Technologies segment generated the remaining $55.6 million revenue, down 8.1% year over year.

Geographic Segments

In the first quarter of fiscal 2012, the Americas segment accounted for 50% of total revenue, the EMEA segment was 24%, and the rest 26% was generated from the Asia-Pacific region.

Future Financial Outlook

For the second quarter of fiscal 2012, management expects the company’s non-GAAP revenue to be within the range of $375 million - $405 million. The company will suffer approximately $35 million - $45 million in revenue due to devastating flood in Thailand.