Flextronics International shares tumble as 3rd-quarter results disappoint investors

Flextronics shares tumble after 3rd-quarter report

NEW YORK — Shares of Flextronics International Ltd., an electronics manufacturer, slid Thursday as investors were disappointed by the company’s fiscal third-quarter results.

The company late Wednesday reported quarterly earnings of $92.9 million, or 11 cents a share, compared with a loss in the same quarter the year before. Stripping out one-time costs, the company said it earned 17 cents per share.

Analysts, who typically exclude special items from their estimates, forecast profit of 15 cents per share, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

The company’s sales were down 20 percent at $6.6 billion for the three months ended in December, but topped Wall Street’s forecast of $6.29 billion.

Raymond James analyst Brian Alexander, who has an “Outperform” rating on the stock, said he was encouraged by improving revenue at Flextronics.

But he added in a note to clients that “investors will be less than thrilled” with the company’s earnings, especially given better profit margins posted by competitors.

The stock was down 47 cents, or 6.6 percent, to $6.63 in afternoon trading amid broader declines in the technology sector and the rest of the market. The stock has ranged from $1.81 to $7.97 over the past year.