Cisco boss hails green shoots

Industry bellwether tops expecations for fiscal Q3 as market shows signs of stabilising

Chambers: We believe we are well positioned for the eventual economic recovery

Cisco chief executive John Chambers believes the networking market may have bottomed out after the vendor beat expectations for its fiscal third quarter.

The industry bellwether topped Wall Street forecasts by posting a 17 per cent annual drop in revenue to $8.2bn (£5.4bn) for the three months to 25 April. Net profits fell by 24 per cent to $1.3bn.

On a conference call, Chambers suggested that the downturn in networking spend may have passed its nadir.

He also indicated that Cisco would look to accelerate its shopping spree and asserted it was well placed to emerge from the downturn in sound shape. During Q3 Cisco announced its intent to acquire Pure Digital Technologies and Tidal Software, and completed its purchase of Richards-Zeta Building Intelligence.

“We will use this period of market transition to align and optimise resources, make strategic investments, move into market adjacencies and enhance relationships with our customers,” Chambers said in a statement.

“As we exit the quarter with a compelling financial position and an innovation engine from both a products and business model perspective, we believe we are well positioned for the eventual economic recovery.”