Fabrinet stock plunges after earnings forecast comes in lower than expectations

Fabrinet shares dove in extended trading Monday after the fiber-optics company suggested its first-quarter performance will not live up to analysts' expectations. In a fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report, Fabrinet on Monday afternoon reported net income of $33 million, or 88 cents a share, on sales of $405.1 million, up from $345.3 million a year before. After adjusting for stock-based compensation and other effects, the company claimed earnings of $1 a share, up from 81 cents a share in the same quarter the prior year. Analysts on average expected adjusted earnings of 94 cents a share on sales of $400 million, according to FactSet. For the first quarter of its new fiscal year, though, Fabrinet guided for a sequential decline, with adjusted earnings of 80 cents to 84 cents a share on sales of $386 million to $394 million. Analysts on average were expecting adjusted earnings of 95 cents a share on sales of $407 million, according to FactSet. After closing with a 1.6% advance at $56.46, shares were selling for less than $50 a share in after-hours trading Monday.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.