Cisco still eyeing IT top dog status despite sales fall

John Chambers claims Cisco can still outlast the competition as Q3 sales and profits fall less than expected

Cisco remains confident in its long-term goal of becoming the "number one IT company" despite suffering a fall in quarterly sales and profits.

The networking giant saw revenue dip by 5.5 per cent year on year to $11.5bn (£6.8bn) in its fiscal Q3 to 26 April, as net profit sank by 12 per cent to $2.2bn.

However, the fact both numbers were actually ahead of expectations sparked a seven per cent rise in Cisco share price.

During the quarter, Cisco announced plans to build the world's largest global "intercloud" for the Internet of Everything, which it claimed would not conflict with channel partners.

Cisco chief executive John Chambers said he was "pleased" with its Q3 performance as he looped back to comments made last year about staying the course in a consolidating IT market.

"Our financial results exceeded the guidance we provided last quarter as we demonstrated clear progress on returning to growth," he said.

"The entire team is focused on moving Cisco forward aggressively and we remain confident in our long-term goal to be the number one IT company."