Cisco Systems reported net sales of USD 11.26 billion for its fiscal first quarter ended 29 October, up 4.7 percent from a year earlier. The gross margin dipped to 61.2 percent from 62.8 a year ago, and the adjusted operating margin fell to 26.1 percent from 28.1. The company's net profit fell 7.9 percent to USD 1.8 billion, including USD 197 million in impairment and restructuring charges, and EPS dipped to USD 0.33 from USD 0.34 a year earlier. Cisco said it's largely completed its restructuring and it expects only USD 0.01-0.02 per share in additional charges in the current fiscal year. Operating cash flow in the last quarter improved to USD 2.3 billion, and Cisco finished the quarter with a total USD 44.4 billion in cash. Cisco reported the strongest growth in data centre products, with quarterly revenues more than doubling to USD 259 million. At its core switch business, sales were flat at USD 3.675 billion, while IP routers fell 3 percent to USD 2.108 billion. Collaboration revenues rose 12 percent to USD 1.093 billion, and video systems were up 13 percent to USD 879 million. The company reported a book-to-bill ratio of 1 for the quarter, as orders rose 13 percent year-on-year. Orders grew in double digits across all customer segments and regions, led by a 16 percent increase among service providers.
