ACT NETWORKS TO CUT STAFF 25%.Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer ACT Networks Inc. announced Wednesday it will lay off one-fourth of its 265 employees as part of a strategy to focus on its core products for voice and data transmission over telecommunications networks A telecommunications network is a of telecommunications links and nodes arranged so that messages may be passed from one part of the network to another over multiple links and through various nodes. . The Camarillo-based company, in an announcement after the stock market closed, said it will eliminate or sell less promising product lines, reorganize re·or·gan·ize v. re·or·gan·ized, re·or·gan·iz·ing, re·or·gan·iz·es v.tr. To organize again or anew. v.intr. To undergo or effect changes in organization. its structure and cut annual costs by more than $8 million. The moves come a month after company founder Martin Shum stepped down as president and chief executive officer, and was replaced by veteran ACT marketing executive Andre de Fusco. ACT made the disclosures as part of reporting a loss of $13.1 million, or $1.43 a diluted di·lute tr.v. di·lut·ed, di·lut·ing, di·lutes 1. To make thinner or less concentrated by adding a liquid such as water. 2. To lessen the force, strength, purity, or brilliance of, especially by admixture. share, for its fourth quarter ended June 30 compared with profits of $113,000 in the year-ago period as sales edged up to $13.6 million from $13.4 million. The results are likely to knock down shares of ACT, which closed off 18.75 cents at $7.0625 on Wednesday, since the consensus analyst forecast was for a loss of 2 cents a share. ACT blamed the loss on slower-than-expected sales; unspecified Adj. 1. unspecified - not stated explicitly or in detail; "threatened unspecified reprisals" specified - clearly and explicitly stated; "meals are at specified times" restructuring costs and reserves for bad debt and slow-moving inventories; and $7 million in charges to revalue assets and write down inventory values. During a conference call, de Fusco also said the downbeat down·beat n. 1. Music a. The downward stroke made by a conductor to indicate the first beat of a measure. b. The first beat of a measure. 2. Informal A period of stagnation or inactivity. results stemmed stemmed adj. 1. Having the stems removed. 2. Provided with a stem or a specific type of stem. Often used in combination: stemmed goblets; long-stemmed roses. from competition from new entrants to the $4 billion networking-equipment market, the Asian economic crisis and ACT's problems in integrating acquired technologies into its operations. ACT also said it will take additional charges of $2 million to $3 million in fiscal 1999 to cover costs of completing the restructuring. Its balance sheet shows $80.9 million in assets and $8.3 million in liabilities as of June 30. De Fusco said he was ``pleased'' with order rates in the current quarter and the enthusiasm of ACT employees. The short-term goal will be to return ACT to profitability while the long-term aim will be to boost its lagging Lagging Strategy used by a firm to stall payments, normally in response to exchange rate projections. share price, he noted. ACT was founded in 1987 and went public in 1995 at $13 a share and soared past $36 in late 1996 before declining last year to the $7 to $15 range. |
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