STOCKWATCH

Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems has produced its 32nd quarter of unbroken growth revenue and profit, announcing earnings of $457 million and sales of $2 billion.

Cisco now controls about 45 per cent of the networking market.

Mitsubishi Electric

Mitsubishi Electric has revised its forecast for the year to March, predicting a loss of Y70 billion ($552 million). Sales are expected to be down at Y3,800 billion, which compares with a net profit of Y8.5 billion last year. The company blamed deteriorating conditions in nearly all its main markets and a charge related to the closure of its US semiconductor plant.

Nasdaq

Nasdaq and small-capitalisation technology stocks have been given a boost by the recent performance improvement of players such as Microsoft, Dell and Cisco. The Nasdaq computer index gained 8.33 points to 712.48 last week. The Russell 2000, which measures small capitalisation stocks, gained 4.04 points to 441.84.

Intel

Confidence in the PC market has helped spark a resurgence in the value of Intel on Wall Street. Shares rose 3.1 to 86.5 on volume of 25 million.

But analysts suggested the chip giant still faces pressure on its profit margins.

Banyan

Banyan Systems announced a profit of $2.4 million and revenue of $18.4 million for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 1997. Annual results showed signs of recovery on the 1996 result as it made a net loss of $16.9 million and sales of $74.3 million.

Tadpole

Tadpole Technology reported a 10 per cent rise in operating margins, with a loss of #2.6 million on sales of 13.4 million for the year ended 30 September 1997. The 40 per cent reduction in revenue was a reflection of the company's withdrawal from unprofitable sectors such as notebooks.