WASHINGTON—eTelecare Global Solutions Inc. shares plunged 31 percent after the Philippines-based call-center operator said it lost Dell Inc.’s client program, forcing the company to cut its third-quarter forecasts and to oust a top executive.

The company pressured its No. 3 executive, senior vice president Einar Seadler, to resign Tuesday after he failed to notify his superiors promptly of Dell’s cancellation, chief financial officer Michael Dodson said in an interview Wednesday. The stock dropped $4.37 to $9.55 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading, the lowest since an initial public offering in March.

eTelecare said in a regulatory filing late Tuesday that a client would end a program that provided $15.2 million in revenue through the first six months of the year. Chief executive John Harris identified Dell as the client in a conference call with investors, Dodson said.

Dell, the world’s second-biggest personal-computer maker, will switch technical support for its consumer business to its own call centers, Dodson said. The move isn’t related to eTelecare’s performance, he said.

As a result of the loss, eTelecare cut its third-quarter net income forecast to $5 million to $5.5 million, or 15 cents to 17 cents for each American depositary share. On August 9, the company had forecast earnings of $5.9 million to $6.5 million, or 18 to 20 cents per ADR.

eTelecare also cut its revenue forecast to $60 million to $63 million, down from last week’s estimate of $63 million to $65 million. Net income was $4.4 million a year earlier, before eTelecare went public, Dodson said. Revenue was $52.2 million a year earlier, he said.

Seadler, 49, learned of Dell’s cancellation August 7 and didn’t tell Harris or Dodson until August 10, Dodson said. In the interim, the company released third-quarter forecasts that had to be revised Tuesday.

“It was embarrassing to the company,’’ Dodson said. “He exhibited poor judgment.’’

Seadler, who continues to work in “a transitional role’’ until September 30, is on vacation in Canada, said Dodson, who declined to provide a telephone number where Seadler could be reached.

He said he would ask Mary Sculley, vice president of human resources, to contact Seadler and give him an opportunity to call Bloomberg News. A phone message left at the residence of an Einar Seadler in Paradise Valley, Arizona, seeking comment on Dodson’s remarks wasn’t immediately returned.

The company’s US headquarters is in Scottsdale, Arizona, where its top executives work, Dodson said. Vice president David Palmer replaced Seadler, Dodson said. eTelecare, which sold $85.4 million of American depositary receipts in March, is based in Quezon City, Philippines, where many of its call centers are located.

Dell has expanded its Philippine call-center operations, Dell spokesman David Kersten said.

WASHINGTON—eTelecare Global Solutions Inc. shares plunged 31 percent after the Philippines-based call-center operator said it lost Dell Inc.’s client program, forcing the company to cut its third-quarter forecasts and to oust a top executive.

RP stocks plunge most in 5 mos

PHILIPPINE stocks Wednesday plunged the most in five months after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. cut its profit forecast, suggesting demand is cooling in the nation’s biggest export market, amid mounting concern that losses on US subprime loans will hurt the global economy.

FILINVEST Land Inc. (FLI), the property unit of Gotianun group, reported Wednesday a 69-percent rise in net income from January to June this year to P529.43 million, from P313.58 million a year earlier.

MEGAWORLD Corp., the real-estate arm of tycoon Andrew Tan, is spending P3 billion to put up two new buildings within its flagship development Eastwood City in Libis, Quezon City.