Cisco Beats Expectations; Shares Jump After Hours
Cisco Systems Inc., the No. 1 maker of gear that directs Internet traffic, Tuesday bounced back as cost-cutting efforts boosted its quarterly earnings to more than triple last year’s profit.
Cisco shares rose to $14.70 in after-hours trading. They closed at $13.08, up 19 cents, in regular Nasdaq trading before the results were announced.
The San Jose-based company said fiscal third-quarter earnings before one-time items rose to $838million, or 11 cents a share, from $230million, or 3 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.
It was the first year-over-year quarterly gain in more than a year.
Revenue in the third quarter ended April 27 rose 2% to $4.82 billion from $4.73 billion last year.
Including one-time items, net income in the quarter rose to $729million, or 10 cents a share, from a net loss of $2.7 billion, or 37 cents a share, a year ago.
It also rose from the second quarter’s net profit of $660 million, or 9 cents a share.
Analysts were expecting Cisco to earn 9 cents a share, with a range of estimates from 7 cents to 10 cents, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
“The earnings per share is a cent better, and that’s solely to do with cost cutting,” said Justin McNichols, a portfolio manager with Osborne Partners Capital Management in San Francisco. “Gross margins looked stronger than we expected. That was a surprise.”
In other earnings news:
* Activision Inc., the publisher of “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” and other video games, said its fiscal fourth-quarter profit increased more than tenfold.
Net income for the quarter ended March 31 rose to $10.9 million, or 17 cents a share, from $875,000, or 2 cents, a year ago, the Santa Monica-based company said. Sales rose 30% to $164.9 million from $126.8 million.
Shares of Activision fell 70 cents to close at $30.65 in Nasdaq trading before earnings were released.
* IVillage Inc., an online network for women, Tuesday reported a wider first-quarter net loss due to an accounting charge, but revenue rose 20% from $12.6 million to $15.1 million as it charged users for horoscopes and other services to offset the slump in advertising sales.
IVillage said its first-quarter net loss widened to $17.9 million, or 34 cents a share, including a $9.2-million accounting charge for goodwill, from $12.2 million, or 41 cents a share, a year earlier. The number of outstanding shares doubled from the first quarter of 2001. IVillage shares fell 14 cents Tuesday to $1.62 in Nasdaq trading.
* WebMD Corp., which makes management software for medical practices and runs health Web sites, said its first-quarter loss narrowed to $29.6 million as expenses for acquisitions declined.
The loss, equal to 9 cents a share, compares with a loss of $1.04billion, or $2.91, a year earlier when the company had expenses for writing down the value of acquisitions. Sales fell to $196.3 million from $202.9 million.
WebMD’s shares fell 2 cents Tuesday to close at $6.48 in Nasdaq trading.
* Internet software developer Starbase Corp. in Santa Ana reported a net loss of $32.1 million, or 42 cents a share, for its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, compared with a net loss of $6.4million, or 11 cents a share, for last year’s final three months. Revenue declined 28% to $11.9 million.
Starbase shares fell 5 cents Tuesday to close at 40 cents in Nasdaq trading.
* QLogic Corp. said fiscal fourth-quarter net income fell 26% as customers reduced purchases of the company’s circuit boards and switches that link components in computer data-storage networks.
Net income for the quarter ended March 31 was $18.7 million, or 20 cents a share, from $25.2 million, or 27 cents, a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Sales fell 8.9% to $90.8 million from $99.7 million.
Shares of the Aliso Viejo-based company rose as high as $40.80 after earnings were released. They fell $3.74, or 8.9%, to $38.26 during regular trading on Nasdaq.
Times staff contributed to this report and Bloomberg News was used in compiling it.
