3Com Posts Loss

3Com Corp., a maker of computer networking equipment, lost $59.2 million in its fiscal first quarter on marketing and research costs that the company hopes will help it return to profitability. The loss of 17 cents a share contrasts with net income of $137.5 million, or 38 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 1 fell 23% to $933.8 million. Excluding acquisition costs, a reorganization charge and investment gains, 3Com said its loss was $41.3 million, or 12 cents. 3Com is betting on faster-growing, smaller businesses such as cable modems and computer network phones to contribute to sales growth. Earlier this year, 3Com spun off No. 1 electronic organizer maker Palm Inc. and sold most of its stagnating dial-up modem business. Excluding acquisition-related expenses and investment gains, the company was forecast to lose 33 cents a share. Excluding discontinued businesses, 3Com said it had sales of $806.3 million. 3Com shares fell 6 cents to close at $13.94 on Nasdaq. They surged as high as $16.20 after results were released and last traded at $16.06.