Cisco sales, profit soared in Q4

Cisco Systems revenue & profit both grew significantly in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter that ended in July, the company announced on Wednesday.

Sales rose 27 percent from a year earlier, hitting $10.8 billion for the quarter. For its full fiscal year, the company reported revenue of $40 billion, up 11 percent from the earlier year.

Net income for the quarter was $1.9 billion or $0.33 per share, up 74 percent from a year earlier. Not including one-time items, the company earned $0.43 per share, up 39 percent. This slightly exceeded the consensus forecast by analysts polled by Thomson Financial, who had expected $0.42 per share.

The fiscal year ended July 31 was a period of dramatic expansion for Cisco, which acquired Norwegian business video seller Tandberg & continued its push in to the server business following its Unified Computing Method introduction in March 2009.