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Strategies & Market Trends : The Thread Formerly Known as No Rest For The Wicked -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: booray who wrote (85341)	1/6/2000 8:32:00 PM
From: kfdkfd	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 90042

Cisco says no change in guidance for current quarter (Adds Nortel comments in third and fourth paras) PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 6 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc., the largest maker of equipment that powers the Internet, said Thursday it had made no changes in guidance for the current fiscal second quarter that it gave to Wall Street analysts. ``We have made no changes in (our) guidance,' said Cisco (NasdaqNM:CSCO - news) spokesman Doug Wills. Nortel Networks (Toronto:NT.TO - news), a major rival to both Cisco and Lucent, issued a statement late Thursday reiterating earlier guidance, said Nortel spokesman Jeff Ferry. Nortel expects 1999 sales of $21.5 billion to $22 billion and that earnings per share from continuing operations will rise 20 percent. The company added that it sees 2000 sales surpassing the market growth of 14 percent to 15 percent by six percentage points and that earnings per share from operations are rising faster than revenue. The comments came after Lucent Technologies Inc., the biggest maker of telecommunications equipment, said after the market close on Thursday that first-quarter profits will fall below analyst forecasts. Lucent (NYSE:LU - news) cited changes in customer purchasing habits, manufacturing constraints and lower-than-expected gross margins as reasons for the shortfall. ``We agree with Lucent that there is a large demand for Internet infrastructure and we also agree it all comes down to execution,' Wills said. Cisco, Lucent and Nortel Networks are locked in an increasingly pitched battle of selling equipment that sends data, voice and video across the same network to telephone, cable and Internet service providers. Cisco said when it reported first-quarter earnings that it expected to grow at or above the industry growth rate in economies that are doing well, as is the case in the United States, for example. ``I expect them to easily make their quarter,' said analyst Paul Sagawa of Sanford Bernstein of Cisco. Analysts expect Cisco to earn 23 cents a share in its second quarter, according to First Call/Thomson Financial. The company has never missed analyst forecasts since going public. Cisco stock fell 5-3/4 to 94-1/4 in trading on electronic networks after the close of regular trading, in sympathy with Lucent, which dropped 9-1/16 to 60 in trading on electronic networks. Nortel Networks (Toronto:NT.TO - news) dropped 5-1/4 to 80. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------