US network giant Cisco Systems last night reported a $618m net profit in its most recent quarter, compared with a $268m loss in the same period a year ago.
The technology company said that excluding once-off charges, the profit for the fiscal first quarter to October 26 was 14 cents a share, slightly ahead of most Wall Street forecasts. Revenues rose 9% to $4.8 billion, in line with expectations.
'Despite the challenging market, we continued to execute ahead of our competitors, resulting in another solid quarter for Cisco,' said John Chambers, Cisco's chief executive.
Chief financial officer Larry Carter told analysts in a conference call that he expected sales in the second quarter to be flat to 4% lower compared with the first quarter.
Chambers said that going into the second quarter, he was more cautious from an external perspective than at the beginning of the first as customers continued to tighten their budgets. He emphasised that Cisco was being conservative in its outlook because of uncertainty.
