The company said it lost $49 million in the three months to November 26, 2004, compared to a loss of $139 million a year ago, on revenue that was down 17% at $151.1 million. The loss per share of $0.13 was in line with the warning 3Com issued ten days after the quarter closed.

The company, which said it faced intense competition and pricing pressure in North America, announced recently it would pay $430 million to buy TippingPoint Technologies Inc, a maker of intrusion prevention hardware, to move into the security market.