UPDATE 1-Anadigics posts Q3 profit misses outlook; shares plunge

(Adds details, share movement, Q4 outlook)

Oct 23 (Reuters) - Cell phone chip maker Anadigics Inc (ANAD.O) reported a third-quarter profit that missed its own forecast, hurt by manufacturing inefficiencies from the rapid build up of production capacity, causing its shares drop about 20 percent in late electronic trade.

Anadigics shares fell to $15.50 in after-market electronic trade, after closing at $19.34 Tuesday on the Nasdaq.

The company posted a profit of $2.4 million, or 4 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $1.3 million, or 3 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding certain items, it earned 11 cents a share.

Revenue rose 10.5 percent to $59.5 million.

In July, the company had forecast earnings of 5 cents per share and pro forma earnings of 12 cents per share for the third quarter.

Analysts on average had expected the company to earn 6 cents a share before special items, and post revenue of $59.3 million for the third quarter, according to Reuters Estimates.

The company said it has significantly increased its market share with several top tier customers resulting in short-term productivity issues. It expects the issues associated with the production capacity ramp to continue throughout the fourth quarter.

Net sales for the fourth quarter are expected to increase sequentially by about 10 percent to 14 percent. It expects to earn about 5 cents to 6 cents a share. On a pro forma basis, it expects to earn 11 cents to 13 cents a share.

Analysts on average expect the company to earn 8 cents a share before items and post revenue of $63.7 million during the fourth quarter. (Reporting by Jennifer Robin Raj in Bangalore)