Networking giant 3Com Corp was expected to come in with first- quarter earnings per share of $0.48 and, before massive charges stemming from its merger with US Robotics Inc, that is exactly what it did. Excluding non-recurring merger-related charges of $426m, 3Com posted net income up 13% at $172.2m, or $0.48 per share, on revenue that jumped 28% to $1.6bn. Sales of systems products including switches, hubs, internetworking and remote access products stood at $714m, up 34% year-on-year. 3Com claims to be the number one supplier of LAN hubs and number two supplier of LAN switches worldwide. Sales of client access products, including network interface cards and modems rose 23% to $886.8m, and 3Com claims the number one spot in those two products as well. But lest we forget there is a price to be paid for the happy new marriage; including charges, net loss for the first quarter as a combined company was $146.8m, or $0.43 per share.
