Netgear shares rise as 1Q revenue forecast tops Street view

Netgear shares rise on 1Q revenue forecast

PHILADELPHIA — Shares of Netgear Inc. rose Wednesday after the networking equipment maker said its first-quarter revenue would exceed Wall Street’s expectations.

Netgear, which makes products such as routers and switches for homes and business, expects to record $195 million to $205 million in revenue. That compares with the $175.8 million that analysts had forecast on average, according to Thomson Reuters.

Late Tuesday, Netgear said it earned $7.9 million, or 22 cents per share, in the fourth quarter. That compares to a loss of $7.3 million, or 21 cents, in the same quarter a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items, Netgear earned 34 cents per share in the 2009 quarter compared with a loss of 7 cents per share in the 2008 period.

Revenue rose 36 percent to $218.8 million from $161.4 million. Earnings were in line with what analysts had been expecting, but revenue blew past their forecast of $178.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters.

Netgear said the 2009 quarter included a one-time order worth $18 million.

Sales were strong in all regions, with North America showing a 52 percent increase to $104.3 million, while Europe, Middle East and Africa sales were up 19 percent to $91.2 million. Asia-Pacific markets had a sales increase of 47 percent to $23.3 million.

For the year, Netgear said it earned $9.3 million, or 27 cents per share, compared with a profit of $18.1 million, or 51 cents per share, in 2008.

Revenue fell 8 percent to $686.6 million.

Shares of Netgear, based in San Jose, Calif., rose $2.20, or 10.1 percent, to close Wednesday at $23.96.