If Cisco’s second-quarter earnings are anything to go by, then the networking equipment maker has taken steps to achieve its goal of becoming the No 1 IT company in the world. Cisco posted revenue of US$12.1bn, an increase of 5pc from a year earlier, for the quarter ended 26 January.
Cisco also reported higher second-quarter profit of US$3.1bn, a 44pc increase in net income from the year-ago quarter.
“Cisco delivered record earnings per share this quarter and record revenue for the eighth quarter in a row in a challenging economic environment,” said Cisco chairman and CEO John Chambers.
“In terms of the future, we are making solid progress towards our goal of becoming the No 1 IT company in the world. As new markets grow and are created, such as the Internet of Everything, it’s very easy to see how the intelligent network is at the centre of that future.
“Our customers already understand that Cisco has the architectures, solutions and services to best help them deliver the business results they need and we are honoured to work with them and serve them each and every day,” Chambers added.
Cisco’s earnings per share rose from US$0.40 in the second quarter of 2012 to US$0.59 in Q2 of this year.
The figures for Cisco’s Q2 net income and earnings per share include tax benefits of about US$926m, arising from a settlement with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and the reinstatement of a federal R&D tax credit.
Cisco’s net sales for the first six months of fiscal 2013 amounted to US$24.0bn, compared with US$22.8bn for the first six months of fiscal 2012.
Net income for the first six months of fiscal 2013 totalled US$5.2bn or US$0.98 per share, compared with US$4.0bn or US$0.73 per share for the first six months of fiscal 2012.