UPDATE 1-Arris Q4 profit falls, Q1 outlook trails Street

Feb 14 (Reuters) - Communications technology firm Arris Group Inc (ARRS.O: Quote, Profile, Research) lagged market estimates with an 86 percent drop in quarterly profit and forecast weak first-quarter results as it expects a fall in sales to its largest customer, sinking its shares more than 23 percent in after-hours trade.

The company, whose customers include Comcast (CMCSA.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Time Warner Cable (TWC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), earned $9.6 million, or 8 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with $70.3 million, or 64 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding items, the company earned 16 cents a share. Revenue rose 6 percent to $249.6 million.

Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 21 cents a share, before items, on revenue of $263.3 million.

The company, which competes with network equipment makers like Cisco (CSCO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Juniper Networks (JNPR.O: Quote, Profile, Research), said fourth-quarter results were hurt by lower margins related to the introduction of a new product and the dilutive effects of its $730 million acquisition of rival C-COR.

The company expects earnings of 8 cents to 12 cents a share, before items, on revenue of $270 million to $285 million for the first quarter. Analysts on average expect earnings of 19 cents a share, before items, on a revenue of $321.44 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

Shares of the company, based in Suwanee, Georgia, fell to $6.09 in trading after the bell, after closing down 5.5 percent at $7.91 Thursday on the Nasdaq. (Reporting by Shradhha Sharma in Bangalore; Editing by Pratish Narayanan)