SonicWall posts flat sales

But network security vendor claims it took market share as quarterly profit hit $5m

SonicWall's quarterly revenue was flat at $54.1m

SonicWall has proved there is still a tidy profit to be made from network security, despite posting flat sales for the final quarter of 2009.

The firewall specialist saw revenue dip fractionally year on year to $54.1m (£34.5m) in the three months to 31 December, pushing its total 2009 sales haul to $200.6m.

Net profit on a GAAP basis leapt from $3.5m to $5m on an annual comparison.

According to IDC, the western European security appliance market suffered its first annual decline in the second quarter of 2009.

NASDAQ-listed SonicWall backed this up by claiming it actually gained on the competition last year.

Chief executive Matt Medeiros said: “In a challenging environment, we gained market share, improved operating margin and generated strong cash flow, all while developing high-performance, market-leading products.

"We are excited about the opportunity for SonicWall in 2010.”

Confirming the severity of price erosion in the sector, SonicWall said it shipped 52,000 revenue units in Q4, compared with 42,000 a year earlier.

The vendor's Q1 revenue forecast of $52m-54m topped market expectations.