Com21 shares up a penny

By Susan Rush
From The October 4, 2002 Edition Of CED Broadband Direct

The Street was relatively unmoved by Com21 Inc.'s announcement that its third-quarter guidance will fall in line with previous estimates. The company's shares were up a penny in early trading.

The broadband access systems provider expects Q3 revenue to fall in the range of $11 million to $12 million, which meets an earlier guidance of between $10 million and $13 million.

Without providing specifics, the company says headend and ATM modem shipments will be down from the numbers posted in the second quarter. The company believes the declines in these sectors will be offset by its DOCSIS modem shipments which more than doubled compared to the second quarter. Com21 plans to announce full results for the third quarter after market close on Oct. 22.

Company President and CEO George Merrick says it is still a very difficult time in the marketplace. In the second quarter, Com21 shipped 57,000 DOCSIS modems, which was down 47 percent from the modems shipped in the first quarter. Basically, the company has pumped up its shipments to bring it to a level it was at two quarters ago.

Com21's DOXport 1110XB cable modem recently received DOCSIS 1.1-certification from CableLabs.

Earlier this week, the company announced its stock moved to the Nasdaq SmallCap Market, effective Oct. 1. The company requested to be moved from the Nasdaq National Market after it received a notice from Nasdaq that its stock did not meet the minimum $1.00 bid price requirement. The company has until Dec. 3 to comply with the $1.00 bid price requirement. The stock will continue to trade under the symbol CMTO. As of 10:28 a.m. EDT, Com21 shares were trading at 14 cents.

In July, Com21 hired Investec Inc. to evaluate its strategic and business alternatives.