OCP ponders move into fiber-to-the-home gear
Californian optical component manufacturer Optical Communication Products (OCP) is anticipating a downturn in revenue, despite posting a $2.1 million profit in its latest financial quarter.
In the three months that ended on March 31, OCP made sales of $18.3 million, up 36% compared with one year ago and slightly up on a sequential basis.
That increase was led by its three top customers "“ Alcatel, Cisco Systems and China-based Huawei. However, OCP's CEO Muoi Van Tran said that revenue would drop to between $14 million and $16 million in the current quarter.
Van Tran did not comment on the likelihood of any long-term drop-off in revenue, saying that visibility remained "very limited".
But with the fiber-to-the-home market now enjoying strong growth thanks to deployments by US carrier Verizon among others, Van Tran said that OCP was seriously considering a move to selling products into this emerging sector. Currently, the vast majority of OCP products are applied in metropolitan area networks.
During the recent quarter, OCP also completed the closure of its Colorado semiconductor operation, where it had been making long-wavelength VCSELs based on dilute-nitride structures. Cost savings of up to $1 million in the current quarter are expected as a result.
OCP had acquired the business from Cielo Communications for $5 million back in October 2002. It has sold the remaining assets of the advanced VCSEL business to Furukawa, OCP's major shareholder, for $1 million - along with a license to manufacture the devices.
The Woodland Hills, CA, firm also announced a raft of senior management changes. Current senior managers including the CEO have been selling off large stakes in the company in recent weeks.
For example, Van Tran and various trusts involving the CEO have made gross proceeds of over $17 million during March and April alone, while chief operating officer Mohammad Ghorbanali sold assets to the value of around $7.5 million in the same period.
