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CISCO SYSTEMS REPORTS FIRST QUARTER EARNINGS
SAN JOSE, California - November 4, 1997 - Cisco Systems, Inc., the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, today reported its first quarter results for the period ending October 25, 1997.
Net sales for the first quarter were $1,869 million, compared with $1,435 million for the same period last year, an increase of 30%. Pro forma net income, which excludes the write-off of purchased in-process R&D discussed below, was $416 million or $0.59 per share, compared with pro forma net income of $321 million or $0.47 per share for the first quarter of 1997,increases of 30% and 26% respectively.
On August 29, 1997, Cisco completed its purchase of DAGAZ Technologies, Inc. and its xDSL technology and took a one-time pretax charge of $127 million or $0.12 per share on an after-tax basis as a write-off of in-process R&D. DAGAZ Technologies was a wholly owned subsidiary of Integrated Network Corporation.
Actual net income for the first quarter, including the above-mentioned write-off of purchased in-process R&D, was $337 million or $0.48 per share, compared with $181 million or $0.26 per share for the first quarter of 1997.
In other related news, on November 3, 1997, Cisco's board of directors authorized a three-for-two stock split to be effective on December 16, 1997.
"We are pleased to report the 31st consecutive quarter of revenue and earnings growth. We believe our growth rate indicates that Cisco continues to gain market share against our traditional competitors in most product sectors," said John Chambers, president and CEO of Cisco Systems.
Cisco continues to make strides in providing end-to-end solutions for each of its key markets -Enterprise, Service Provider and Small/Medium Business- through internal development, strategic alliances, minority investments and acquisitions.
Cisco expanded its investment in long-term strategic alliances by announcing a unique product and services alliance with EDS, investing in a venture with KPMG, and broadening its Microsoft and Intel relationships.
The Cisco/EDS alliance provides companies with mainframe-to-Internet/intranet integration and networking services. KPMG announced that its network integration practice will standardize on Cisco products and technologies. To enable a powerful new class of networked applications, Cisco and Microsoft expanded the scope of their joint development efforts on Microsoft's Windows NT 5.0 Server Active Directory technology. This initiative is supported by more than 20 companies. Cisco and Intel will join several leading consumer electronics companies in an effort to stimulate the worldwide market for affordable,standards-based cable modems.
In the Enterprise market, Cisco continues to maintain its LAN switching leadership. Key announcements include four new high-density, high-performance 10/100 Fast Ethernet modules for the Catalyst(R) 5000 series and the launch of a new generation of Token Ring switching solutions-a Token Ring switching module for the Catalyst 5000 and the Catalyst 3900 stackable product.
Cisco continues to strengthen its position in the dial market with the introduction of three carrier-class dial solutions that give service providers high performance and the ability to offer differentiated services. These new offerings include the Cisco AS5300 universal access server and two integrated AccessPath(TM) dial access systems. Cisco established its leadership in the gigabit router space by shipping the Cisco 12000 series gigabit switch router, the industry's first carrier-class router and only OC-12 capable solution.
In expanding its solution portfolio for the small- to medium-sized business market, Cisco added software-based firewall solutions for Cisco IOS(TM) access platforms and Windows NT environments. Cisco also added hubs to its existing switching and routing products. During the first quarter, Cisco shipped its millionth Cisco 2500 router and set new price/performance standards with its Catalyst 1900 and 2820 Ethernet switches, which allow customers to transition from basic hub connectivity to intelligent switching technology.
In addition, Cisco announced the first phase of a data/voice/video integration strategy that will ultimately encompass all of its markets. Adding to Cisco's current voice-over-ATM and voice-over-Frame Relay offerings, new products include voice-over-IP modules for the Cisco 3600 series and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) circuit emulation capabilities for the Catalyst 5500. Circuit emulation allows voice traffic from legacy systems, such as PBXs, to be transported over packet or cell infrastructures.
"Cisco's leadership in almost all product segments, together with the continued acceptance of end-to-end networking solutions in all of our markets, positions us well as the preferred provider of end-to-end network solutions. Increasingly, our customers realize that aligning with a single networking vendor and its partners allows them to focus on their business objectives and start using networking to gain a sustainable competitive advantage," concluded Chambers. |