Thursday, July 20, 2000
CNXT warns about Q4
--9:40 am - By Michael Baron
Conexant Systems (CNXT: news, msgs) is falling 10 1/16, or 20.6 percent, to 38 7/8. The Newport Beach, Calif., provider of communications
semiconductor products reported third-quarter pro forma earnings of $51.5 million, or 22 cents a share, up from last year’s equivalent profit of $25.7
million, or 12 cents a share, and in line with First Call’s average estimate. Revenue rose 39 percent in the latest three months to $530.5 million
from $380.3 million in the same period a year earlier. However, Conexant expects operating income to decline by about 10 percent in the fourth
quarter due to increased spending on research and development and acquisition expenses. Conexant expects fourth quarter revenue to grow at a
rate of six-to-eight percent while gross margin targets remain at 46-to-47 percent. The company is aiming for revenue of $2.7 billion in fiscal 2001,
an increase of 30 percent. In addition, Conexant announced two acquisitions. First, Conexant agreed to acquire NetPlane Systems, a Deedham,
Mass., provider of network software, for $140 million in stock. Next, Conexant agreed to acquire Novanet Semiconductor, an Israel designer of
high-speed physical layer networking products, for $120 million in stock. The deal also includes provisions for additional payments of up to $35
million, subject to Novanet meeting certain performance targets. The warning prompted Chase H&Q to lower its rating on the stock to "market
perform" from "buy."