Cisco profit slides by nearly half

Sales and income down but hopes decline has bottomed out.

Cisco Systems has reported fourth quarter profit down by nearly half and revenue down by 18 percent.

The networking specialist announced net sales of US$8.5 billion (AU$10.1 billion), with net income down 46 percent to US$1.1 billion (AU$771m).

Like most major IT suppliers finding sales more difficult to come by in the recession, Cisco presented the results as a positive outcome under pressure.

"Cisco delivered very solid quarterly and annual results in a challenging economic environment, as we continued our focus on disciplined execution and our customers' success," said Cisco chief executive John Chambers.

"We saw a number of positive signs this quarter in the economy and in our business, especially comparing our sequential quarter-over-quarter order trends. If we continue to see these positive order trends for the next one to two quarters, we believe there is a good chance we will look back and see that the tipping point occurred in our business in the fourth quarter."

For the full year, revenue dropped 8.7 percent to US$36.1 billion (AU$43 million), with net income down 23.8 percent to US$6.1 billion (AU$7.27 million).