Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) surprised the industry with higher than
expected revenues for its fourth quarter. Net sales hit $11.2 billion for Q4,
representing a 3.3 percent increase, and $43.2 for the full year.
But net income fell to $1.2 billion compared to $1.9 billion
in the same period a year ago as $772 million in restructuring and $923 million
in other charges hit the bottom line. The restructuring included job cuts of 6,500
as part of Cisco’s effort to return to its core businesses after Chairman and CEO
John Chambers acknowledged that Cisco had lost its focus. Now the company is
returning to the right track, he said.
"We've made significant progress on our comprehensive
action plan to position ourselves for our next stage of growth and
profitability, while delivering solid financial results in Q4," said Chambers,
in a statement. "As we start our next fiscal year, you will see a very
focused, agile, lean and aggressive company that is laser focused on helping
our customers use intelligent networks to transform their businesses."
For the full fiscal year Cisco reported net income of $6.49
billion compared to $7.77 billion for the previous year.
Shares of Cisco rose by close to 20 percent in Thursday morning trading.
