Ceragon Networks Ltd. (Nasdaq: CRNT; TASE:CRNT) today published its financial report for the third quarter of 2008 and announced a share buyback program. The wireless backhaul solutions provider had fairly good results, which were in line with market forecasts, but it has decided on a "more prudent" stance with regard to next year.
Ceragon's market capitalization has fallen 78% in around a year, and now its management is taking advantage of the share price drop to buy back shares from the public.
Ceragon posted $58.1 million revenue for the third quarter, up 30.6% on the $44.5 million for the corresponding quarter of 2007. The result was just below the analysts' consensus of $58.3 million. GAAP-based net profit totaled $3.5 million ($0.09 per share), down from $3.7 million ($0.12 per share) for the corresponding quarter. Non-GAAP net profit was $4.1 million ($0.11 per share), unchanged from the corresponding quarter, and the same as the analysts' consensus.
Ceragon President and CEO Ira Palti said, "We believe that the growth drivers for our business remain intact and we continue to expect strong demand for high capacity backhaul solutions, led by the Asia Pacific region." However, he is cautious about the future, saying, "Beyond this year, we think it's prudent to adopt a more cautious stance."
Ceragon had $112 million in cash and cash investments at end of September. The company announced that it will buy back up to $20 million of shares. Palti said, "The strength of our balance sheet gives us the financial flexibility to fund our future growth as well as purchase our shares from time to time when we believe they represent a particularly attractive investment opportunity."
Ceragon rose 5.7% in early trading to $5.03 on Nasdaq today, giving a market cap of $184 million. It rose 1.7% on the TASE, one of the few shares to buck the market trend.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 27, 2008
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