Cisco profitable in Q1 - cautious about Q2

Still tough out there

Cisco Systems has turned in first quarter results up on the corresponding period last year but warned its next three months won't see sales grow any further. The networking equipment giant reported revenues of $4.8bn, up from $4.4bn, and net profits of $618m - compared to a loss of $268m for Q2 last year. The most recent completed quarter saw Cisco pay around $97m for AYR Networks. CEO John Chambers chose to concentrate on the company's relative success in a results release, saying the company is continues to "execute ahead of [its] competitors". Rivals from North America such as Juniper, Lucent and Nortel have seen their sales and market shares fall dramatically in recent months.