Cisco reported sales of USD 11.5 billion for its fiscal second quarter to 28 January, up 10.8 percent year-on-year. The group recorded 8 percent growth in its core switch and router sales and double-digit growth in all other product categories. The company's net profit rose a faster 43.5 percent to USD 2.2 billion, and EPS improved 48.1 percent to USD 0.40. Operating cash flow rose to USD 3.1 billion from USD 2.6 billion a year earlier, and Cisco increased its quarterly dividend by 2 cents a share to USD 0.08. The company finished the period with USD 46.7 billion in cash. Cisco reported a book-to-bill ratio of around 1 for the quarter, as orders rose 7 percent year-on-year. Orders were strongest from the service provider segment, up 12 percent from a year earlier, while orders from enterprise and commercial customers rose 7 percent, and the public sector was down 1 percent. On a geographic basis, orders in Asia Pacific were strongest at 14 percent growth, followed by EMEA at 7 percent and the Americas at 5 percent.
