Networking leader Cisco beat forecasts with its fourth-quarter result and gave investors heart with confirmation of its guidance.
Chairman and CEO John Chambers said in a conference call that the company's confidence in its long-term growth guidance of 12%-17% was 'very strong.'
He said the current economic problems were a 'short-term challenge' and would remain 'for the next few quarters'.
The networking bellwether boosted Q4 sales 9.9% to €6.7 billion (US$10.4 billion) to post a net profit of €1.29 billion (US$2 billion), up 4%. Analysts had expected revenue at approximately €6.6 billion (US$10.3 billion).
'Q4 was a very solid quarter, especially given some challenges that we are seeing in the global marketplace,' Chambers said.
Full-year net profit rose 9.8% to €5.2 billion (US$8.1 billion) on sales of €2.5 billion (US$39.5 billion), up 13.2%.
Sales of enterprise equipment in the slowing US market were up 13% for the fourth-quarter, compared with 6% in Q3.