Synchronoss 1Q profit climbs, revenue misses estimates

Shares tumbled $10.08, or 44 percent, to $12.82 in after-hours electronic trading. The stock earlier closed down 5 cents at $22.90. Shares have traded in a 52-week range of $15.15 to $48.03.

For the three months ended March 31, the company earned $4.3 million, or 13 cents per share, up 17 percent from $3.7 million, or 11 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were 16 cents per share in the latest quarter.

Revenue rose 37 percent to $29.1 million from $21.3 million.

Analysts, on average, expected a profit of 16 cents per share on sales of $31.2 million, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.

"We have materially lowered our growth expectations for 2008 due in large part to reduced revenues associated with the iPhone, which masks the underlying growth and momentum of the rest of our business," said Stephen G. Waldis, president and chief executive, in a statement.

AT&T, which is the exclusive U.S. carrier of the iPhone, accounted for about 72 percent of first-quarter revenue at Synchronoss, down from 76 percent in the previous quarter.

But Synchronoss said that as it exits 2008, it expects AT&T to comprise over 40 percent of total sales -though it does "not expect to see the majority of the impact from recently added customer engagements until 2009 and beyond."

Chief Financial Officer Lawrence R. Irving called Synchronoss' increasing revenue and customer base diversification a "significant, long-term positive for the company."