Cisco reported better-than-expected results for its fiscal third quarter to April. Revenue rose 7 percent year-on-year to USD 12.8 billion, its first growth in over a year, and earnings were up 5 percent to USD 0.68 per share. The company said it recorded 10 percent annual growth in product orders, the strongest demand in nearly a decade.
For the fourth quarter, the company expects the momentum to continue, with revenue growth of 6-8 percent and EPS at USD 0.64-0.69.
Third-quarter results were helped by an extra week in the calendar and the takeovers of Acacia, IMImobile and Dashbase. Across the regions, sales growth was strongest in APJC at 11 percent, followed by EMEA up 11 percent and the Americas growing 2 percent.
Product revenue performance was broad-based, Cisco said, with growth in Security of 13 percent, Infrastructure Platforms up 6 percent, and Applications up 5 percent. Services revenue increased by 8 percent, and Cisco raised the share of software sold as a subscription to 80 percent from 76 percent in the last quarter.
Operating expenses were USD 4.7 billion, up 8 percent and equal to 36.9 percent of revenue. Operating profit rose 1 percent to USD 3.5 billion, for a margin of 27.1 percent.
