Normal, daß heute ein Teil der gestern erzielten Gewinne wieder abgegeben werden.
Und News gibts auch zur Einschätzung der finanziellen Lage bei COVD und die weiteren Aussichten fürs nächste Jahr.
UPDATE 2-Covad`s slower growth to produce smaller sales
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2000 10:54 AM
- Reuters
(recasts, adds details throughout)
NEW YORK, Dec 12 (Reuters) - High-speed Internet access company Covad Communications Inc. on Tuesday outlined plans to slow its growth in order to save cash and cut its losses, but its stock fell after it said revenues through 2001 would fall below Wall Street expectations.
Shares of Covad (NASDAQ NM:COVD) were down 15/32, or 15 percent, to $2-9/16 on Nasdaq. Covad`s stock has lost 93 percent of its value this year amid a broad sell-off in technology stocks.
Covad said it would concentrate on filling its existing network with more customer traffic rather than adding new lines and extending its geographic reach.
It also plans to focus on serving financially secure customers, renegotiate some client contracts and exit others, and reduce its exposure to customers who cannot pay their bills.
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Covad is one of several Internet-access companies that have been hurt as their Internet service provider customers have failed to pay for services received or have declared bankruptcy.
Covad, which provides wholesale high-speed Internet access over telephone lines using digital subscriber line technology (DSL), recently restated its third-quarter results and said it would cut its work force by 13 percent.
"To conserve cash, we will go only after the most attractive business, which will mean less (access) lines and less revenues than previously expected. This will significantly improve our cash position by reducing EBITDA losses and capital expenses," Covad`s interim chief executive Frank Marshall said in a conference call with analysts and reporters.
EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Due to the slower growth plan, Covad said installed lines in service for the fourth quarter are expected to be 270,000. It said lines in service at the end of 2001 will total between 440,000 and 460,000, which is below Wall Street expectations of 680,000.
Slower line growth will cut revenues. The company said it now expects revenues of $60 million to $65 million for the fourth quarter and $380 million to $390 million for 2001.
Covad also said it expects to post a fourth-quarter loss on an EBITDA basis of $180 million to $190 million, and it will take a restructuring charge related to the job cuts of up to $20 million as well.
While Covad did not supply per-share figures in its forecast, analysts had been expecting the company to report a fourth-quarter loss of $1.34 per share, according to First Call. Analysts expect the company to lose $5.46 per share in 2001, according to First Call.
The decision to spend less money to expand its business will shrink 2001 EBITDA losses to a range of $450 million to $470 million, compared with current expectations of losses of $550 million, Covad said.
"We are going to grow the business with lines that get us to break-even and profitability faster," said Covad Chairman Chuck McMinn.
Covad said 14 of its Internet Service Provider (ISP) customers, who sell DSL directly to consumers, are "troubled," and four of them have filed for bankruptcy protection. They represent about 26 percent of Covad`s installed lines.
About 32 percent of its lines include "potentially troubled" customers who are currently paying their bills on time, it said. The other 42 percent of its lines include financially sound customers such as AT&T Corp. (NYSE:T).
Covad on Monday announced a program for its DSL customers that would allow them to switch from these troubled ISPs to others with no fee.
Other DSL companies facing problems include DSL.net Inc. (NASDAQ NM
SLN) and NorthPoint Communications Group Inc. (NASDAQ NM:NPNT), whose financial deterioration led No. 1 U.S. local phone company Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) to cancel its planned $800 million acquisition of NorthPoint.Bitte beachtet auf Grund der reduzierten Erwartungen auch die weiter oben gepostete Meldung von jockey bzw. Hammer, die von ganz anderen Zahlen ausgehen.
bei Hammer : Revenues bis 1 Billion(=Milliarde in D) USD, bei Covad selbst (wohl auch realistischer) nur rund 390 Mio USD.
Aber auf Dauer bin ich zuversichtlich !
V.Mac