Earnings meet expectations

Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2005 | 9:10 a.m.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Cisco Systems, the Internet equipment maker, said on Tuesday that fourth-quarter sales rose 11 percent, and profit increased 19 percent -- returns that essentially met estimates of Wall Street analysts.

For the quarter, which ended July 31, the company reported sales of $6.6 billion, compared with $5.9 billion for the same period a year ago. Net income, excluding one-time gains and losses, was $1.6 billion, or 25 cents a share, compared with $1.5 billion, or 21 cents, a year earlier.

For the year, the consensus of Wall Street analysts was that Cisco would earn 25 cents a share.

For the fiscal year, Cisco reported sales of $24.8 billion, compared with $22 billion for fiscal 2004.

At the same time, Wall Street analysts continue to wrangle with whether Cisco should be defined as a mature, large-cap company or as a high-growth technology company.

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