Cisco Systems reported sales for the fiscal fourth quarter up 4 percent from a year earlier to USD 11.7 billion. Revenue growth came from IP routers, up 4 percent to USD 2.1 billion, as well as wireless and data centre equipment, which grew 22 percent and 90 percent respectively. Revenue from switching was flat at USD 3.6 billion.
Product orders were up 2 percent year-on-year in the quarter, and Cisco said the book-to-bill ratio was "comfortably above" 1. Order growth was led by a 12 percent increase in Asia. Orders in the Americas rose 4 percent, while the EMEA region was down 6 percent. In terms of customer segments, orders were strongest in the enterprise market, up 6 percent, while the commercial/consumer segment grew 4 percent, and public sector rose 1 percent. Orders from service providers were down 1 percent.
Net profit for the three months to 28 July rose 56 percent year-on-year to USD 1.9 billion, and EPS was up 64 percent to USD 0.36. Cisco also announced a 75 percent increase in its quarterly dividend, to USD 0.14 per share for fiscal Q1. The company said it had the "financial strength and flexibility" to continue to invest in the business as well as return a minimum 50 percent of free cash flow to shareholders, through dividends and share repurchases. Cisco generated cash flow from operations of USD 11.5 billion in the past fiscal year and finished July with total cash of USD 48.7 billion.
