NAPERVILLE, Ill. (AP) -- Tellabs Inc. said Tuesday it will cut 200 jobs as it reported a jump in its fourth-quarter profit thanks to a tax gain. It also announced its first cash dividend.
Shares of the telecommunications equipment maker jumped 39 cents, or 6.6 percent, to $6.29 in morning trading.
Tellabs said it is restructuring its business to focus on ethernet and Internet network equipment and trim costs. It plans to cut 200 positions over the next five quarters, although the company said it expects its overall head count to rise this year.
Tellabs earnings got a boost from a favorable tax adjustment. It reported a fourth-quarter profit of $62 million, or 16 cents per share, including a $23.4 million one-time tax gain. That compares with earnings of $13 million, or 3 cents per share, a year ago.
Stripping out one-time items, the company said earnings came to 9 cents per share, the same as a year ago.
Sales fell 5 percent to $389 million from $408.3 million a year ago.
On average, analysts expected earnings of 7 cents per share on sales of $391 million, according to a Thomson Reuters survey. Analysts typically exclude one-time items from their estimates.
Full-year earnings came to $113.6 million, or 29 cents per share, versus a loss of $930 million, or $2.32 per share, the previous year. Revenue fell 12 percent to $1.5 billion.
The company projects first-quarter revenue of $370 million, plus or minus 2 percent. Analysts were looking for $364.9 million.
Tellabs said it is introducing a quarterly dividend of 2 cents per share, payable Feb. 26 to shareholders on record as of Feb. 12.
