The wireless backhaul market is expected to continue its trend of growth this year and onward into the future, led by massive mobile growth worldwide. This is why wireless backhaul provider Ceragon Networks (News - Alert) surprised analysts recently by releasing preliminary quarterly results that came in below estimates.

According to the company's president and CEO, Ira Palti, Ceragon's performance for the first quarter of 2013 can largely be traced back to operators' hesitation to commit to backhaul investment at this time.

“It is taking longer than we expected to close certain deals,” said Palti in a statement. “We experienced a level of bookings in Q1 lower than we would have expected based on seasonal weakness, reflecting operators’ cautious approach, despite the need for additional capacity.”

Ceragon's preliminary results put estimated revenue somewhere between $89 million and $91 million, much lower than its guidance of $95 million to $105 million for the quarter ended March 31. This equates to a projected loss between 36 and 39 cents per share in GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles), or a loss of 15 to 18 cents per share in non-GAAP terms.

However, Palti predicts an upturn in business during Q2 will turn the company's situation around, stating, “We expect the re-evaluation of some aspects of customers’ business models, as well as continued intense budget scrutiny, to cause longer sales cycles to persist, even though Q2 bookings are likely to show some improvement for seasonal reasons.”

During March, Ceragon closed a three year $73.5 million of secured credit loans with an additional credit of up to $40.2 million available for bank guarantees from a group of lenders led by Bank Hapoalim B.M. The loans under the credit facility were meant to be used by Ceragon to help “manage fluctuating working capital needs, mainly related to the deployment of its equipment at tier-one operators and for general corporate purposes.”

Ceragon provides microwave backhaul for 2G, 3G and LTE (News - Alert) networks. Its products are deployed by over 430 service providers worldwide. The company's final financial figures will be released on May 6.