Cisco reported a further fall in revenues and profit in the company's fiscal fourth quarter to July. Revenue fell 4 percent year-on-year to USD 12.1 billion, and net profit was down 14 percent to USD 2.4 billion or USD 0.48 per share, in line with the company's outlook. Results also fell over the full year, with revenue down 2 percent to USD 48.0 billion.
Quarterly revenue fell 6 percent in the Americas and EMEA, but was up 6 percent in the APJC region. Product revenue declined 5 percent, led by a 9 percent drop in switch and router sales and a further 10 percent drop in service provider video. Service revenue was up 1 percent, and Cisco said the share of recurring revenue increased to 31 percent.
With orders flat year-on-year, Cisco said its book-to-bill ratio was "comfortably" over 1 in the quarter. This was led by 3 percent growth in EMEA and a 2 percent increase in orders from APJC, while orders in the Americas dropped 4 percent. The service provider segment was again the weak point, with orders down 7 percent, and the enterprise sector also dropped 1 percent, while the public and commercial sectors increased orders 2 and 4 percent respectively.
For fiscal Q1, Cisco forecast a 1-3 percent fall in revenue and and an adjusted gross margin of 63-64 percent versus 64.6 percent in Q4. EPS is estimated at USD 0.48-0.53.
Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said the company had a "strong quarter and transformative year". The company remains in the midst of a multi-year transformation but is confident with its progress and sees more to do, he said.
