News

For its fiscal third-quarter (to end December 2007), optical module and component manufacturer Opnext Inc of Eatontown, NJ, USA has reported revenue of $66.4m, down on its original guidance of $77-80m and down 13.3% from $76.6m the prior quarter. The firm says that this is due to lower demand for 300-pin fixed wavelength products, vendor quality and production delays that limited shipment of 40Gb/s products, plus lower X2 and SFP product revenues, partially offset by increasing demand for XFP products.

Compared to the prior quarter, revenue included $53.9m for 10Gb/s and above products (down 15.1% from $63.5m) and $7.5m for less than 10Gb/s products (down 8.2% from $8.2m), but $4.9m for industrial and commercial product (up 1.8% on $4.8m).

Cisco and Alcatel-Lucent fell from 40.9% and 23% of sales to 37.6% and 19.9%, respectively.

Net income fell from $5.8m to $4.3m. Cash and cash equivalents rose by just $1m to $203.4m, as $2.5m of cash from operations was partially offset by additional investments to expand manufacturing capacity and fund the payment of capital equipment lease obligations.

“Following this tough December quarter, we expect to resume our path of sequential revenue growth as we continue our course of profitability,” says president and CEO Harry Bosco. “While there will continue to be uncertainty in any given quarter due to our customers’ limited near-term visibility, we believe that growth in broadband applications will continue to drive the demand fundamentals of our business,” he adds.

"We have accelerated key initiatives, such as additional sourcing of critical parts and increased levels of buffer stocks, which should serve to make us more resilient to the supply issues that plagued us in the December quarter,” he continues. “In addition, our demand forecasting procedures, supported by our automated systems, continue to be refined for shorter intervals to ensure that manufacturing is better aligned with our customer needs.”

Although Opnext believes that the 10Gb/s and above market segment should continue to grow more rapidly than the overall optical market, lack of short-term visibility on the part of some customers, coupled with broader economic uncertainty, has caused it to take a cautiously optimistic view of guidance for next quarter, says Bosco.

For its fiscal fourth quarter (to end March), Opnext expects revenue to recover slightly to $67-70m.

Back in compliance with Nasdaq

Opnext says that it received a Nasdaq Staff Determination Letter on 20 February indicating that, due to its expected restatement of certain financial statements and its resulting inability to timely file its report on Form 10-Q for the quarter to end-December 2007, it was not in compliance with the filing requirements for continued listing of its common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market set forth in Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(14).

However, now that Opnext has filed the quarterly report, it has since been notified by the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department that it is back in compliance and that the matter is now closed.

Opnext showcases live demonstrations at OFC/NFOEC 2008

At this week’s Optical Fiber Conference’s exhibition (OFC/NFOEC 2008) in San Diego, CA, USA, Opnext is debuting the live demonstrations highlighting 100Gb/s client-side technology, 43Gb/s DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplexing) long-haul modules, and a complete portfolio of SFP+ (small-form-factor pluggable) modules:

• Opnext’s first live demonstration of 100Gb/s client-side technology will show how 100GbE (100 Gigabit Ethernet) transmission can allow increased bandwidth of connections in the core networking area using a simple system configuration with less fiber and fewer optical modules per interface, while maintaining low power consumption and meeting cost constraints. This market is expected to have strong growth supported by increased numbers of end users (as committed to by a number of ISPs), increased access rates and methods, and increased services targeted for end-users.

• A 43Gb/s tunable 5x7” 300-pin transponder (the TRV7BA0) using phase shift keying and incorporating the SFI-5 interface for DWDM applications enables a move from discrete components to an integrated solution for up to 43Gb/s line-side applications.

• Opnext’s portfolio of SFP+ transceiver modules have compact size and low power consumption, enabling increased density of high-speed networking systems, and include: a full range of 8GFC modules for storage area networks, plus 10GbE SFP+ modules ranging from long-reach single-mode-fiber applications to short-reach multi-mode-fiber transmission as well as long-reach multi-mode (LRM) as well as a cost-effective ultra-short-reach option

“These are exciting times for 100G and 40G advancements. We believe the technologies we are demonstrating at OFC/NFOEC 2008 are key elements to enabling these markets,” says Bosco.

See related items:

Opnext grows 38% year-on-year, driven by 10Gb/s

Opnext’s sales for 10-40Gbps products rise 88% year-on-year

Search: Opnext Optical communications

Visit: www.opnext.com