Net income in the quarter ended Oct. 31 was $4.5 million, or three cents a share, compared with a loss of $7.14 million, or six cents, in the year-earlier period. The Linthicum, Md.-based company said sales rose to $141.4 million from $91.2 million.
Separately, chief executive Pat Nettles said Ciena is on target to meet analyst expectations for its first quarter and fiscal year.
The company is expected to earn five cents a share in the first quarter, which ends in January, and 51 cents in the fiscal year, the average estimates of analysts polled by First Call.
Nettles said first-quarter sales will increase from the fourth quarter's $141.4 million, though "likely" by less than 10 percent.
This week, shares in Ciena jumped to record levels on word the firm would sign Qwest Communications International as a customer. Ciena shares have doubled in value since mid-October.
Ciena said it expects sales and profit to continue to rise next year because of increased demand for its products that boost the capacity of fiber-optics and new devices such as telecommunications switches.
"Ciena is capable of achieving better than 50 percent revenue growth in 2000," president Patrick Nettles said in a statement. "We expect our earnings growth will improve as we begin to see meaningful sales contributions from our new products in the second half of the year."
Excluding costs related to its acquisition of Lightera Networks and Omnia Communications, Ciena said it had a loss of $6.8 million, or five cents, in the year-ago period.
Profit in the recent quarter was in line with two-cent average forecast of analysts surveyed by First Call.
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