Ciena Corp. (NYSE: CIEN) reported second-quarter fiscal 2014 results before markets opened Thursday. The network equipment maker reported adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.17 and $560.0 million in revenues. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $0.02 on revenue of $507.7 million. Second-quarter results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.13 and $559.18 million in revenue.

Ciena’s outlook for the third quarter includes revenue in the range of $585 million to $615 million. Adjusted gross margin is forecast in the low- to mid-40% range, and adjusted operating expenses are forecast at approximately $210 million. The consensus estimates for the third quarter call for EPS of $0.27 on revenues of $583.31 million.

Adjusted gross margin in the current quarter was 43.1%, up 0.6% from a year ago, and operating expenses came in at $206.3 million, up 4.5% year-over-year.

Sales in the company’s largest division, converged packet optical equipment, rose about 21% from $294.3 million to $356.8 million, approximately 64% of Ciena’s total revenues.

Sales outside the United States comprised 42% of total sales and one customer, AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), accounted for 21.5% of total revenue, up from 18.8% of revenue in the first quarter and 16.5% of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2013.

The company’s CEO said:

As the shift continues toward on-demand networking models and as we continue to diversify our business, we expect to deliver steadily improving financial performance, including performance in the second half of the year that is stronger than the first half.

Ciena’s revenue outlook topped the consensus estimate, and combined with a solid EPS beat and better-than-expected revenue, shares will jump Thursday.

Shares traded up about 13.2% in Thursday’s premarket, at $21.50 in a 52-week range of $18.00 to $27.94. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $27.50 before the results were announced.

ALSO READ: America’s Most (and Least) Common Jobs

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.