Agere Systems Inc. (Allentown, PA) reported revenues for its fourth quarter ended September 30, 2005, of $416 million, down 3.9 percent sequentially from $433 million in the June quarter, and 5.2 percent lower than $439 million in the same quarter last year. For the full fiscal year, the company reported revenues of $1.68 billion, 12 percent below $1.91 billion for fiscal 2004.
Fourth-quarter net income was $7 million, or $0.04 per share on a GAAP basis, compared to the year-ago net loss of $127 million, or $0.74 per share, and net income of $120 million, or $0.66 per share in the fiscal third quarter. GAAP net income for the fourth quarter includes $31 million in net restructuring charges and related costs, and for the third quarter, included a $120 million benefit resulting from the reversal of a tax contingency. Fourth-quarter GAAP gross margin as a percent of sales was 45 percent. For the full fiscal year, the company posted a GAAP net loss of $8 million, or $0.04 per share, compared to a net loss of $90 million, or $0.52 per share, for fiscal year 2004.
In addition, the company announced that its board of directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $200 million of its outstanding common stock. Based on Agere’s closing stock price on October 25, 2005, $200 million represents approximately 12 percent of the company’s total outstanding shares. As of September 30, 2005, Agere had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $698 million. For its fiscal first quarter of 2006, Agere expects to report revenues in the range of $390 million to $410 million, with a GAAP net loss of $0.13 to $0.19 per share.
