Acme Packet posts lower 2Q profit

Communications equipment maker Acme Packet Inc. said Thursday its second-quarter profit declined sharply as revenue slipped and operating costs grew.

The company also lowered its full-year outlook considerably. Its shares fell initially in after-hours trading but later rebounded.

Acme Packet earned $816,000, or a penny per share, down from $4.6 million, or 7 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were 3 cents per share for the latest quarter.

Revenue fell 5 percent to $25.7 million from $27 million.

Analysts, on average, were expecting a profit of 3 cents per share on sales of $25.1 million, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.

The company makes communications equipment that routes voice and data over IP networks.

Acme Packet's shares fell 28 cents, or 5.8 percent, to $4.55 in after-hours trading but later recovered and were up 10 cents, or 2 percent, to $4.68. The stock closed regular-session trading down 25 cents, or 5.2 percent, at $4.58.