DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Juniper Networks Inc.'s (JNPR) first-quarter earnings slumped 87% as weaker sales of routers and other hardware dragged down the company's bottom line. Looking ahead to the second quarter, Juniper projected a downbeat adjusted profit between 15 cents and 17 cents a share with $1.03 billion to $1.06 billion of revenue. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a 20-cent per-share profit and $1.05 billion of revenue. Shares were halted Monday afternoon after the company's results went public shortly before the close of trading in New York, but were up 7.8% at $21.75 just prior to the close. The stock is off 46% over the past year. A Juniper spokeswoman said a staging website where the company's results are published online was inadvertantly made public ahead of the close. Juniper's earnings have declined for more than a year amid soft demand from several key customer groups. Like many of its peers, the maker of routers and switches has faced headwinds as some telecommunications companies--which typically account for more than half of its revenue--reduce their capital expenditures in response to economic uncertainty. The company also faces stiff competition, including from larger rival Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) and discounter Huawei Technologies Co. Juniper has pointed to new product offerings as a source of future strength. The company in February acquired privately held Web security vendor Mykonos Software Inc. for roughly $80 million in cash, broadening its portfolio of security offerings. In the latest quarter, Juniper posted a profit of $16.3 million, or 3 cents a share, down from $129.8 million, or 24 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding stock-based compensation, write-downs and other adjustments, per-share earnings fell to 16 cents from 32 cents as revenue decreased 6.3% to $1.03 billion. The company's downbeat guidance in January called for a first-quarter profit between 11 cents and 14 cents a share with $960 million to $990 million of revenue. Gross margin narrowed to 61.4% from 66.8%. Revenue from Juniper's platform systems division fell 8.3% amid weaker sales of routing and security products. Revenue rose 2.6% in the smaller software solutions division. -By Drew FitzGerald, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2909; Andrew.FitzGerald@dowjones.com
