JDSU revenues up in 4Q12 but down for the year

JDSU (NASDAQ: JDSU; and TSX: JDU) revealed it closed its fiscal 2012 down year-on-year in just about every category, despite topping its revenue guidance in the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2012.

GAAP net revenue for the fourth quarter came in at $439.3 million. This led to a net loss of $24.3 million for the quarter, or $0.10 per share. While the revenue figure was an improvement over third-quarter GAAP net revenues of $409.2 million, the loss was greater than the net $17.4 million, or $ 0.08 per share for the prior quarter. And the numbers were worse compared to the year-ago quarter, when JDSU saw net revenues of $471.8 million and net income of $9.3 million, or $0.04 per share.

The GAAP net loss for the fourth fiscal quarter includes a $23.7 million impairment charge of certain long-lived assets and $10.5 million of insurance proceeds associated with the Thailand flood (see "JDSU forecasts down due to Thailand flooding").

GAAP gross margin for the quarter was 41.6%, and 45% on a non-GAAP basis.

Looking at fiscal 2012 in total on a non-GAAP basis, JDSU saw year-on-year declines in net revenue ($1,682.1 million, down 6.8%), gross margin (46.1% versus 47.6% in FY 2011), operating margin (9.1% compared to $12.7%) and net income ($137.3 million versus $216.7 million in 2011).

On a GAAP basis, the net loss for fiscal 2012 was $57.7 million ($0.25 per share), compared to net income of $71.6 million ($0.31 per share) for fiscal 2011.

Nevertheless, JDSU management saw positive signs from its performance. “JDSU’s execution on its strategic priorities is leading to market share gains and financial leverage despite challenging economic conditions,” said Tom Waechter, JDSU’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our focus on innovation and operational excellence accelerated in fiscal 2012 and we look forward to advancing our target business model in fiscal 2013.”

That said, Waechter and the rest of the management team forecasts non-GAAP net revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2013, ending September 29, 2012, in the range of $415 million to $435 million.

Looking deeper at the non-GAAP fourth quarter numbers:

• Revenues within the Communications Test and Measurement segment of $196.2 million represented a 10.3% increase over the prior quarter, but a decrease of 7.1% compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011. Revenue from this segment represented 44.7% of total net revenue.
• Communications and Commercial Optical Products revenue increased 6.9% compared to the prior quarter to of $185.0 million. However, this was a decrease of 8.6% compared to the year-ago quarter. Revenue from this segment represented 42.1% of total net revenue. Within the segment, Optical Communications revenue of $155.4 million increased 8.5% compared to the prior quarter and decreased 10.9% compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Advanced Optical Technologies revenue of $58.1 million was within 1% of both the prior quarter and the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.

Americas’ customers represented 54% of total net revenue for the quarter. EMEA and Asia-Pacific customers represented 22% and 24%, respectively.