Telecom Ramblings

Network equipment manufacturer Ciena (NASDAQ:CIEN - chart, news) reported its fiscal Q1 results today.  That’s for the three months ending January 31st, which means we get an early glimpse of some early first quarter effects.  Revenues of $175.9M were down slightly from the prior quarter and were below analyst expectations in the 180s.  The company blamed delays in revenue recognition associated with initial deployments for several customers for the shortfall.  Adjusted net loss per share was $0.12, also weaker than expected.

Guidance for fiscal Q2 is for revenues of $185-195M with margins in the mid to high 40s, which is also a bit lower than analysts were hoping for.  Naturally, the stock is off in the premarket, but we should remember that the prior quarter was above expectations and that revenues in this sector can be lumpy and timing really does play a big role.

There were M&A expenses of $27M in the quarter related to the pending acquisition of Nortel’s MEN unit.  That’s a big number, I have to wonder where it all went.  Ciena expects the game-changing transaction to close later this month, and they will have quite a bit to tell us as the integration gets moving.  Amongst that information will be whether or not they will substitute cash for some or all of the convertibles to be issued in the deal.