San Jose, Aug 06: Cisco Systems Inc. said its fiscal fourth-quarter profits grew 27 per cent, despite a decrease in revenues, as the networking equipment giant continued to control costs in the challenging economy. Executives, however, said there are some early stirrings of economic recovery and estimated fiscal first-quarter revenues would grow as much as 4 per cent.
"We are starting to see some very early signs that could be interpreted - with the appropriate caveats - as cautiously optimistic," John Chambers, Cisco's chief executive said yesterday. For the three months ended July 26, Cisco earned USD 982 million, or 14 cents per share, compared with USD 772 million, or 10 cents per share, in the same period last year. Sales declined 2.6 per cent, to USD 4.7 billion from USD 4.83 billion last year.
Excluding special items, Cisco earned USD 1.1 billion, or 15 cents per share, compared with USD 1 billion, or 14 cents per share, in the same time last year. Analysts expected Cisco to earn 15 cents per share on sales of USD 4.66 billion, according to a survey by Thomson First Call.
"With the obvious exception of revenue growth, we continue to achieve some of the top financial measurements in our company's history," Chambers said.
Cisco, the world's leading network equipment maker, continues to see weak demand for its products as businesses have yet to significantly boost spending. Bureau Report