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 Shares of Cisco, considered a bellwether for the performance of the
broader network gear industry, rose nearly 4 percent in extended
trading on Wednesday.
The company is the market leader in selling network equipment to
businesses, controlling about half of the $38 billion global market
and overshadowing rivals Hewlett-Packard Co <HPQ.N> and China's
Huawei Technologies Co Ltd <HWT.UL>, according to market research
firm Gartner.
Cisco's latest results also underscore an ongoing recovery in sales
of the company's switches and routers, which were hit by a slowdown
in spending by telecom carriers, its traditional customers, in the
second half of 2014.
Needham & Co analyst Alex Henderson said the 7 percent rise in
revenue in the Americas was a "laudable performance." The region
accounted for 61 percent of total sales in the fourth quarter.
"I think for the entire market - and Cisco is a microcosm of it -
the international markets are the key issue."
Cisco said revenue from other geographies declined marginally.
The company has also been investing in new products and services
such as data analytics software, security and cloud-management
tools.
Cisco said in June it would buy cloud-based security firm OpenDNS
for $635 million.
The company also said revenue from telecom providers rose 2 percent
in the quarter but added that it did not expect an increase in
capital spending by its traditional customers.
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"Cisco's best years are ahead of us," Chuck Robbins said on the
post-earnings conference call, his first as Cisco's chief executive.
Robbins took over from veteran John Chambers in July.
The company forecast revenue growth of 2-4 percent for the first
quarter, which translates to $12.49 billion-$12.73 billion. It
forecast adjusted earnings per share of 55 cents-57 cents.
Analysts on average were expecting revenue of $12.55 billion on a
profit of 56 cents per share.
For the fourth quarter, the company earned 59 cents per share on an
adjusted basis, while revenue rose nearly 4 percent to $12.84
billion.
Analysts on average were expecting a profit of 56 cents per share on
revenue of $12.65 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Up to Wednesday's close of $27.90, shares had fallen nearly 5
percent since the company last reported results in May.
(Reporting By Arathy S Nair and Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru;
Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
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