Cisco Systems reported a $1.36 billion profit in the company's most recent
first quarter of 2000, a healthy jump from earnings of $814 million in the same
period a year ago. Sales rose 66 per cent to $6.52 billion from $3.92 billion.
The latest results show Cisco's continued amazing ability to absorb company
after company and turn the acquisitions into engines of sales and profit growth.
"We are very pleased with the solid balance across our major geographies,
lines of business, and product families," Cisco CEO John Chambers said in a
statement.
Cisco now depends on non-US sales for 48 per cent of its revenues. Cisco,
which has 36,000 employees worldwide, plans to open a new campus in San Jose for
20,000 workers. Additional campuses are underway in Fremont and Milpitas as
Cisco plans for continued strong growth. "We believe we are positioned to
break away from both the small and large competitors in every category,"
Chambers said. "Five years ago, the Internet was a phenomenon that was
primarily understood by techies. Today, the combination of Internet
infrastructure and applications has created a new phenomenon, fueling new
productivity, competition, and growth."
Still, Chambers said he is weary of the impact a downturn in the US economy
would have on the company. "We have a healthy sense of paranoia that makes
Andy Grove (author of Only the Paranoid Survive) look relaxed."