Datum Shares Fall 16% on News of First-Quarter Loss

Datum Inc. shares fell 16% after the telecommunications-equipment maker said it sees an unexpected first-quarter loss caused by a reduction in orders stemming from the Asian economic crisis.

The maker of equipment used to synchronize data in phone networks saw its stock price fall $2.38 a share to $12.88 in trading that was more than six times the three-month average.

Datum said late Monday that it expects to report a loss of about 30 cents a share in the first quarter on revenue of $20 million to $22 million. The company had been expected to earn about 6 cents a share, the average of four analysts surveyed by IBES International Inc.

In last year’s first quarter, Datum reported net income of $1.2 million, or 26 cents a share, on sales of $28.7 million.

In addition to the crisis in Asia, Datum blamed the shortfall on continued slow sales of personal computers and cellular products to some of the company’s major customers.