Cisco profits surge 28pc


9 Nov 2006

Network equipment giant Cisco has reported revenues of US$8.2bn for its fiscal first quarter of 2007, up 25pc on the year. The company recorded profits of US$1.6bn for the quarter, up 28pc on the year.

Cisco Systems, which employs 50 people in Ireland, was set up in 1984 by Stanford University-based married couple Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner.

The company has grown to become one of the giants of the internet world and in the latest quarter attributed its performance to strong momentum in the IT and communications markets worldwide.

The sales growth was particularly boosted by an additional US$584m in sales derived through its acquisition of Scientific Atlanta last year.

“Cisco delivered another strong quarter, with record results from a revenue, net income and earnings per share perspective,” said John Chambers, Cisco president and CEO. “This strong momentum demonstrates that customers increasingly share our vision of the network as the platform for all forms of communication and IT.”

“We are in the midst of a market inflection that is changing the landscape of networking and we believe the network is becoming the platform for the next generation of IT, revolutionising the way people connect, communicate and collaborate.

“We laid the cornerstones for our strategy to capture this shift several years ago and believe we are now uniquely positioned for continued growth and increased share of our customers’ total IT spend,” Chambers added.

Cisco said that cash and equivalent investments stood at almost US$20bn in the bank, up from US$17.8bn last year. During the quarter the company achieved cash flows from operations of US$2.3bn compared with US$1.4bn a year ago.

During the quarter the company repurchased 66m shares of common stock at an average price of US$22.85 per share.

By John Kennedy