Cree Shares Fall After Company Calls For Lower Q1 Adjusted Profit

Shares of Cree Inc. fell nearly 6% late Tuesday after the Durham, N.C., lighting products maker reported fiscal fourth-quarter results above Wall Street expectations but called for lower per-share profits in the fiscal first quarter. Cree said it lost $6 million, or 6 cents a share, in the fiscal fourth quarter, compared with a net loss of $11 million, or 11 cents a share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016. Adjusted for one-time items, Cree earned $4 million, or 4 cents a share, compared with $19 million, or 19 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue fell to $359 million, from $388 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 4 cents a share on sales of $350 million for the company. Cree said it expects fiscal first-quarter 2018 revenue in a range of $353 million to $367 million, and adjusted earnings of 2 cents to 6 cents a share in the quarter. The analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast adjusted earnings of 11 cents a share on sales of $361 million for Cree's fiscal first quarter.