eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
Western Multiplex Corp. reported late Thursday a net loss for its fiscal fourth quarter, while meeting analyst expectations.
The Sunnyvale, Calif. wireless network equipment maker reported a net loss of $11.3 million or 19 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $3.3 million and 6 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
On a pro forma basis, which excludes certain one-time charges considered normal business expenses under generally accepted accounting principles, Western Multiplex reported a net loss for the fourth quarter that was $2.2 million or 4 cents per share, compared to net income of $3.4 million and a loss of 6 cents per share for the same quarter last year. The pro forma results met the average of estimates made by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call.
There was no increase in revenue from last year, with total revenues for the year coming in at $105.7 million. Western Multiplex also had a weaker fourth quarter than last year, with revenue coming in at $24.2 million compared to revenue of $37.6 million in the fourth quarter of last year.
“While our results clearly are not where we would like them to be, there are a number of bright spots, indicating progress is being made to return us to profitability this year as we had planned,” said Jonathan Zakin, Western Multiplexs CEO in a conference call with analysts late Thursday.
Zakin expressed satisfaction that revenue was up sequentially from the third quarter by 11.5 percent. He also cited improved gross margins, reduced inventory, collection of accounts receivable, and more cash on hand.
Zakin also cited a growing wireless networking infrastructure business sold to enterprises and Internet Service providers, which now exceeds 50 percent of total revenues, and insulates Western Multiplex somewhat from the volatile telecomm business.
Zakin also said he sees new opportunities ahead, most notably in enterprise network backup.
“In Q4 we laid the foundation for continued expansion in the enterprise by developing products that open up two new market segments for us: fiber redundancy and last-mile access,” said Zakin. “While almost all businesses backed up their data, many have not backed up their networks.”
Zakin said that after September 11th, enterprise network redundancy will become an important issue for enterprise network managers, and that Western Multiplexs “license free” radio products will draw interest because of their lower costs and ease of use.
This quarter, Western Multiplex entered into an agreement to merge with enterprise wireless technology provider Proxim, Inc. in an effort to create a broad range of wireless products and expand marketing power.