DOW JONES NEWSWIRES JDS Uniphase Corp.'s (JDSU) loss in its fiscal second quarter--its eighth loss in a row--narrowed on higher margins following a prior-year $691.6 million goodwill write-down. Shares gained 1.9% to $8.53 in after-hours trading as the fiber-optic equipment company forecast fiscal third-quarter revenue of $325 million to $350 million. Analysts' average estimate was $322.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters. The stock has more than doubled in the past year. JDS, like other makers of broadband products, has been hurt as telecom operators slow purchases and pull back information-technology spending, but some analysts see a recovery in its markets this year. The company, which makes glasses used to watch 3D movies, has received a bump from the popularity of the science-fiction epic "Avatar." For the quarter ended Jan. 2, JDS reported a loss of $19.5 million, or 9 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $722.9 million, or $3.36 a share. Excluding such items as big prior-year write-downs, earnings were flat at 12 cents. Analysts had estimated 9 cents. Revenue slid 3.1% to $342.9 million. In November, JDS forecast $320 million to $345 million, above the average estimate at the time. Gross margin rose to 40.3% from 38.2%. Revenue rose 2.3% in the communications test and measurement segment, which provides more than half of the company's sales, but fell 12% in the communications and commercial optical products segment, which is involved in telecom and cable television. -By Kathy Shwiff and John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2357; Kathy.Shwiff@dowjones.com
