Networking company Cisco Systems on Tuesday reported that revenue for the final quarter of its 2002 fiscal year totalled $US4.8 billion, the same is in the previous quarter but up 12 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2001.
Net income for the quarter to July 27 was $US772 million, or 10 cents per share. That compared with net income of $7 million, or zero cents per share, for the same period last year and $729 million, or 10 cents per share, for the previous quarter of 2002.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call had expected earnings of 12 cents per share and revenue of $4.88 billion.
"This was another solid quarter for Cisco, despite the ongoing challenges in the economy," said Cisco president and CEO John Chambers. "We continued to focus on what we can control, and the results speak for themselves. Our operational performance is on par with peak historical results, especially in the areas of gross margins and income as a percentage of revenue."
Pro forma net income for the quarter, excluding acquisition charges, payroll taxes on employee stock option exercises and non-recurring items, was $1 billion, or 14 cents per share, the company said. That compared with pro forma net income of $838 million, or 11 cents per share, for the previous quarter and $163 million, or 2 cents per share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2001.
During the quarter, Cisco completed the purchases of Hammerhead Networks and Navarro Networks at a combined cost of $260 million, the company said. Cisco also recorded a one-time charge of $28 million for continuing research and development.
Revenue for the full fiscal year totalled $18.9 billion, off 15 per cent from $22.3 billion in fiscal 2001.
The company also announced on Tuesday that it is increasing its stock repurchase program to a total of up to $8 billion through to September 12, 2003. That represents an increase of $5 billion from the original $3 billion authorised last September. About $2 billion has been repurchased to date.
