3Com Beats Forecasts With $104-Million Loss

3Com Corp. beat Wall Street expectations in its fiscal second quarter as the troubled network-equipment maker’s loss narrowed to $104 million, or 30 cents a share, from a deficit of $142 million, or 41 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell nearly 50%, to $394 million in the most-recent quarter, compared with $789 million in the year-ago period and $390 million in the first quarter.

The firm expects revenue to fall slightly in the fiscal third quarter before rebounding in the fourth. Executives expect to return to profitability in the fourth quarter.