NEW YORK (Reuters) – Leading network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc. reported a higher-than-expected rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday as businesses upgraded their networks to handle increasing Internet traffic.
The results also showed substantial gains from its February acquisition of cable set-top box maker Scientific Atlanta, and appeared to validate the company’s expansion from its traditional routers and switches business.
Net profit for the fiscal first quarter ended October 28 rose to $1.6 billion, or 26 cents per share, from $1.3 billion, or 20 cents per share, in the same quarter a year earlier.
Profit before special items was $1.9 billion, or 31 cents per share, up from $1.6 billion, or 25 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.
Analysts, on average, had expected net profit before items of $1.8 billion, or 29 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Revenue rose to $8.2 billion from $6.5 billion in the year-ago quarter, with Scientific Atlanta, which was not part of Cisco last year, contributing $584 million in the latest quarter.
Wall Street had expected revenue of $7.9 billion.
Cisco shares have risen about 47 percent since the start of the year, compared to a 6 percent rise in the Nasdaq 100 and a 16 percent fall in rival equipment maker Juniper Networks Inc.
Cisco shares rose 3.6 percent to $26 after the results, compared to its Nasdaq close of $25.10, a level not seen since 2004.
Fuente: Reuters
