Cisco revenue forecast disappoints; says to cut 1,100 more jobs

#Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) forecast current-quarter revenue that widely missed analysts' estimates and said it would cut 1,100 more jobs, as the world's largest networking gear maker steps up efforts to transform into a software-focused company. Shares of the Dow component fell 8.2 percent to $31.05 in after-market trading on Wednesday. The stock had closed down 1.4 percent in regular trading, compared with the 1.78 percent slump in the index .DJI. Cisco, which announced in August that it would slash 5,500 jobs, said the new cuts would result in $150 million in additional pretax charges. The company said on Wednesday it expected revenue for its fourth quarter to fall between 4-6 percent from a year earlier, implying a range of $11.88 billion-$12.13 billion. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $12.51 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Cisco said orders in its public sector business, which includes sales to federal, state and local governments, fell 4 percent in the third quarter ended April 29. "It's a pretty significant stall right now with the lack of budget visibility," Chief Executive Chuck Robbins said on an earnings call. Democrats and Republicans agreed earlier this month to provide around $1 trillion to keep the federal government funded through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. However, divisions between the parties are likely to flare up again when the White House unveils President Donald Trump's first full budget for the 2018 fiscal year on Tuesday. "So, you've got some pretty large pieces of (the) business under duress," Needham & Co analyst Alex Henderson said. "Some of it is probably around the lack of a budget agreement on extending the debt limits until fairly late in the quarter, some of it could be related to timing of programs - it's hard to pin that down." Demand for Cisco's routers remained weak in the latest quarter, contributing to the company's sixth straight decline in revenue.

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