What happened
Shares of Ceragon Networks (CRNT) popped today, up by 7% as of 12:40 p.m. EDT, after the company reported second-quarter earnings. The networking technology company also announced a new deal with a wireless carrier in Africa.
So what
Revenue in the second quarter came in at $62.4 million, topping the consensus estimate of $57.9 million in sales. That led to an adjusted net loss per share of $0.06, slightly less red ink than the $0.07 per share in adjusted losses that analysts were modeling for.
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"Our results for the second quarter show improvement as compared with Q1, reflecting the return of many of our customers to their ongoing infrastructure projects and the beginning of the 'new normal,'" CEO Ira Palti said in a statement. "Our focus has been to maintain an uninterrupted flow of services and equipment to these customers."
Now what
Orange Niger, the second largest wireless carrier in the Republic of Niger, has chosen Ceragon's backhaul offerings to modernize its network to 4G. The mobile operator will start deploying 4G technology in the capital of Niamey and proceed to expand coverage to other cities with the hopes of grabbing over 1 million 4G subscribers by the end of the year. Africa represented 4% of revenue in the second quarter.
Despite near-term uncertainties related to the coronavirus pandemic, Ceragon is optimistic that the virus is creating trends that will accelerate 5G network deployments around the world. "The new COVID-19 reality has brought a new urgency to 5G rollout and 4G network expansion plans, a trend that we expect to persist long after COVID-19 has passed," Palti added.
