Juniper disappoints this Christmas

Profits take a dive...

Network infrastructure specialist Juniper Networks has cut its profits forecast to half of Wall Street's expectations. The company warned it expects fourth quarter pro forma earnings of five cents per share compared with the 10 cents analysts had estimated. Juniper expects to report Q4 sales of between $150m and $155m, down from earlier estimates of $200m. The estimates blotted out any glimmer of hope given by Juniper's Q3 results in October, which beat Wall Street's expectations. But the internet equipment maker claims the drop in sales come as Juniper's biggest customers, Worldcom and Quest, cut down further spending on their network build-outs. At close yesterday, shares in Juniper were down $4.08 to $18.85.