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VeriSign, a major player in the Internet addressing system, reported a loss that narrowed from a year earlier, but sales dropped 8.5 percent in a quarter that the company said marked the end of a transition to focus on its core Internet and telecommunications businesses.
But the Mountain View company also forecast revenue for the current quarter that fell slightly below Wall Street's expectations. That sent shares down $1.22 to $16.54 in after-hours trading following release of earnings. The stock had fallen 86 cents to close at $17.76 in regular trading Thursday.
For the fourth quarter, VeriSign reported a loss of $22.3 million, or 9 cents a share, compared with a loss of $39.4 million, or 17 cents a share, a year earlier.
Restructuring charge
The latest results included a restructuring charge of $43.2 million mostly related to the sale in November of its Network Solutions domain-name marketing business.
Excluding some one-time charges, VeriSign reported fourth-quarter earnings of 18 cents a share. That beat Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of 13 cents a share.
Sales were $251.6 million for the fourth quarter, down from $275 million a year earlier.
VeriSign Chairman and Chief Executive Stratton Sclavos said that over the past 1 1/2 years, the company has been shifting its focus toward its Internet services business -- which includes the ``.com'' and ``.net'' master directories -- and its business that sells services to telecommunications companies.
The company -- which last posted a quarterly profit four years ago during the Internet boom -- has taken massive write-offs in the past few years.
``We're looking forward to 2004 as we believe the markets we participate in are recovering,'' Sclavos said in a conference call with analysts.
The company said it expected to post revenue of $220 million for the first quarter. But that projection fell below analysts' expectations of $228 million.
`Paring down'
``Over the last year or two it's been a story of paring down and integrating,'' said Scott Sutherland, vice president of research for Wedbush Morgan Securities. He does not own any VeriSign shares, and his company has no investment-banking business with VeriSign.
``It's going to be a year they start acquiring in their core area,'' he added. ``You're almost going to see a reverse'' of the recent strategy to shed businesses, he said.
For the fourth quarter, VeriSign's Internet-services business accounted for $120 million, or 48 percent, of sales.
The telecommunications business contributed $100 million in revenue, or 40 percent.
The recently sold Network Solutions business contributed $32 million in fourth-quarter revenue.
But the Mountain View company also forecast revenue for the current quarter that fell slightly below Wall Street's expectations. That sent shares down $1.22 to $16.54 in after-hours trading following release of earnings. The stock had fallen 86 cents to close at $17.76 in regular trading Thursday.
For the fourth quarter, VeriSign reported a loss of $22.3 million, or 9 cents a share, compared with a loss of $39.4 million, or 17 cents a share, a year earlier.
Restructuring charge
The latest results included a restructuring charge of $43.2 million mostly related to the sale in November of its Network Solutions domain-name marketing business.
Excluding some one-time charges, VeriSign reported fourth-quarter earnings of 18 cents a share. That beat Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of 13 cents a share.
Sales were $251.6 million for the fourth quarter, down from $275 million a year earlier.
VeriSign Chairman and Chief Executive Stratton Sclavos said that over the past 1 1/2 years, the company has been shifting its focus toward its Internet services business -- which includes the ``.com'' and ``.net'' master directories -- and its business that sells services to telecommunications companies.
The company -- which last posted a quarterly profit four years ago during the Internet boom -- has taken massive write-offs in the past few years.
``We're looking forward to 2004 as we believe the markets we participate in are recovering,'' Sclavos said in a conference call with analysts.
The company said it expected to post revenue of $220 million for the first quarter. But that projection fell below analysts' expectations of $228 million.
`Paring down'
``Over the last year or two it's been a story of paring down and integrating,'' said Scott Sutherland, vice president of research for Wedbush Morgan Securities. He does not own any VeriSign shares, and his company has no investment-banking business with VeriSign.
``It's going to be a year they start acquiring in their core area,'' he added. ``You're almost going to see a reverse'' of the recent strategy to shed businesses, he said.
For the fourth quarter, VeriSign's Internet-services business accounted for $120 million, or 48 percent, of sales.
The telecommunications business contributed $100 million in revenue, or 40 percent.
The recently sold Network Solutions business contributed $32 million in fourth-quarter revenue.
