Election Section

3Com’s loss narrows in second quarter, beats expectations

By Matthew Fordahl The Associated Press
Wednesday December 19, 2001

SAN JOSE — 3Com Corp. beat Wall Street expectations in the second quarter as the troubled network equipment maker’s loss narrowed and business showed signs of turning around. 

“Q2 was a quarter of great progress for 3Com,” said Bruce Claflin, the company’s chief executive. “Our second-quarter results confirm we are on or ahead of plan in virtually every part of our turnaround.” 

For the three months ended Nov. 30, 3Com lost $104 million, or 30 cents a share, compared with a loss of $142 million, or 41 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. 

Excluding special items, the company lost $47 million, or 14 cents a share, compared with a loss of $51 million, or 15 cents a share, a year ago. 

Analysts were expecting a loss of 22 cents a share, according to a survey by Thomson Financial/First Call. 

Revenues were down 50 percent to $394 million in the most recent quarter, from $789 million in the same period last year. It was a modest improvement from first-quarter sales of $390 million. 

The results were announced after the markets closed. Shares of 3Com closed up 27 cents, to $5.31 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. In after-hours trading, shares gained another 41 cents.