JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ:JDSU) is set to report its earnings on Feb 5. The company has witnessed a change in management recently and during the quarter, has announced several new products too. In late December, the board announced that Thomas Waechter is taking over leadership as president and CEO on Jan. 1. The company stayed in-house, promoting Waechter from his position as president of JDSU’s Communications Test and Measurement group. The outgoing CEO Kevin Kennedy has decided to join Avaya as its president and CEO, effective January. JDS Uniphase revealed that it will pay Kevin Kennedy, its departing chief executive, a $400,000 bonus within seven days after he leaves on Dec. 31. That was the minimum bonus guaranteed him, no matter what the performance of the company was that year. Kennedy, who informed the company in October of his plan to step down, will also be paid $800,000 in 2009 to consult for the company, and will remain on the s board of directors as vice chairman, at least through his term expiring at the 2010 shareholder meeting.

Very recently, the company warned that it will record an impairment charge for the fiscal quarter that ended Dec. 27 due to a weakened economy, according to a regulatory filing . The material noncash charge would be up to the company's total goodwill balance of $744 million, JDS Uniphase said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Among the set of products unveiled this quarter is, a new ultraviolet (UV) filter, an optical component critical to instrument makers and used for applications such as environmental monitoring, genetic research, biomedical instrumentation, and medical/aesthetic laser instrumentation. The new JDSU UV filter allows for a transmission level that is up to four times higher than any other UV filter available today. It is also more durable and environmentally stable than current solutions because it is made up of hard dielectric material and has a single substrate structure. Secondly, introduced the SmartClass Triple Play Services (TPS) test instrument, an all-in-one handheld tool for the installation, maintenance and troubleshooting of IP video, VoIP, IP data and ADSL 1/2/2+ services. The SmartClass TPS performs highly complex tests yet is easy-to-use, meets the challenges associated with mass broadband deployments, and can scale to future requirements as technology evolves. Lastly, announced availability of a new high power ultraviolet (UV) laser called the Q304-HD laser. Based upon the widely adopted Q Series UV laser platform from JDSU, the new laser provides 50 percent more power and is designed to increase throughput, or the rate at which it can conduct micromachining functions such as hole drilling, wafer cutting or singulation, and solar cell processing. Higher throughput from the laser allows manufacturers to increase productivity during the manufacturing of products, saving valuable time and costs.

Earnings Estimates
Current Estimates: $0.06
Number of Estimates: 3
High Estimate: $0.09
Low Estimate: $0.02
Last Year EPS: $0.11
Percentage Growth: -48.00 %

Disclosure: The author does not own any of the stocks mentioned above.