Brocade's Third-Quarter Profits Soar 12-Fold
PALO ALTO, Calif. (Reuters) - Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (NasdaqNM:BRCD - news), a maker of high-speed computer switches for data storage networks, on Wednesday reported third-quarter profits that soared 12-fold as sales more than tripled.
Earnings for the period ended July 29 rose to $20.1 million, or 16 cents a share, from $1.61 million, or 1 cent, a year ago. Sales rose to $92.1 million from $20.1 million.
The results topped the consensus forecast of 14 cents expected by analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial.
Brocade, which makes fiber channel switches that connect storage area networks, or SANs, that are up to 6 miles apart, benefited from the surging growth of the Internet digitization of data and the need to offer faster access to storage systems connected to the Internet.
``Data storage requirements continue to increase across the board at a staggering rate,'' said Greg Reyes, president and chief executive, in a statement. He added that it was the eighth consecutive quarter of accelerating sales growth.
Shares of San Jose, Calif.-based Brocade fell 5-3/4 to 196-3/4 on the Nasdaq. The stock is down from its record high of $219.75 reached Aug 9, but has more than doubled this year. |
