Ciena Corp.

1201 Winterson Rd.

Year founded: 1992

Industry: Telecommunications

Post 200 Category: Top 125 Companies

Revenue: $298.71 Million

Net Income/Loss: ($789,464,000.00)

Earnings per share: ($1.51)

Dividend: n/a

Stockholder equity: $1.15 Billion

Auditor: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Stock: CIEN

Assets: $2.14 Billion

Market capitalization: $1.08 Billion

52-week high: 5.08 4/20/2004

52-week low: 1.64 3/31/2005

Executive chairman: Patrick H. Nettles

President and CEO: Gary B. Smith

Employees: 1650

Local employees: 590

Description: Ciena sells telecommunications products in three main areas: data networking, transport and switching, and broadband access.

Developments: Like many telecom companies, Ciena is on a mission to diversify its business and narrow its losses. In May 2004 the company completed its acquisition of broadband access firm Catena Networks and switching company Internet Photonics. Ciena was buoyed by the news in June 2004 that one of its largest customers, Sprint Corp., would step up spending on its wireless network. But in December, Ciena reported a widening loss: $495 million for the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $115 million a year earlier. Revenue for the fourth quarter grew 16 percent, to $82 million. At the time, company executives said the revenue increase resulted from an effort to broaden Ciena's customer base to government agencies and cable and telecommunications companies. The company laid off 565 employees in 2004, most of whom worked for Ciena's now-closed San Jose plant. Ciena early this year became embroiled in another patent infringement lawsuit, this time suing Nortel Networks Corp., alleging it copied six network equipment design technologies. In 2003, Ciena paid Nortel $25 million to settle a different patent infringement suit and the two companies agreed at the time not to sue each other for two years. Ciena's new suit was filed one day after that agreement expired. Things began to look better for Ciena in February of this year when the company announced it had cut its losses to $57 million for its first quarter of the year, down from $76.7 million the previous year. Revenue was also up for the quarter, $94.7 million compared with $66.4 million last year. Ciena chief executive Gary B. Smith said at that time that new demand for high-speed Internet access, wireless service and government business was encouraging carriers to spend more on their networks.