Cisco loses stock gains on outlook By Chris Kraeuter, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 5:54 PM ET Nov. 6, 2002 SAN JOSE, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- Cisco Systems shares lost all late gains on Wednesday after the networker said its sales will be flat to down 4 percent during its fiscal second quarter.
"From an external perspective, our customers are more cautious and their visibility continues to contract," said Chief Executive John Chambers during a conference call, adding that his financial targets are on the cautious side.
Cisco shares (CSCO: news, chart, profile) were up only modestly on Island ECN following a regular-session gain of 2.1 percent to $12.96. After Cisco announced first-quarter results but before it laid out second-quarter targets, shares rose as much as 5 percent on Island.
For the quarter ended in October, Cisco earned $618 million, or 8 cents a share, on revenue of $4.84 billion. Excluding a $412 million write-down of equity investments, Cisco earned $1 billion, or 14 cents a share, which is a penny better than analysts expected.
At the beginning of the quarter, Cisco said it expected sales to be flat or slightly higher than the $4.8 billion it reported during the fourth quarter. The company provided no bottom-line target.
During the same quarter last year, Cisco lost $268 million, or 4 cents a share, on sales of $4.45 billion. Excluding charges, Cisco earned 4 cents a share.
Gross margins for the quarter rose to 69.3 percent compared with 67.7 percent in the previous quarter and 54 percent in the first quarter last year. Chief Financial Officer Larry Carter attributed the boost to lower component costs and a reduction in inventory provisions.
Headcount declined by 288 to 35,278.
For the second quarter, Cisco said its sales could be flat or down as much as 4 percent sequentially, which would result in sales as low as $4.6 billion.
Chambers said customers became more cautious during September as they became more concerned about the direction of the economy and their own businesses. "Our revenue will grow only meaningfully as our customers' revenue and profits improve," he said.
Gross margins are expected to be 66 to 68 percent and operating expenses are targeted to fall slightly. As usual, Cisco did not provide a target for its earnings.
Analysts had expected earnings of 13 cents a share on sales of $4.9 billion, on average, according to First Call.
Chris Kraeuter is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in San Francisco.
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