Juniper results show network spending recovering

Friday, 29 January 2010, 18:36 IST
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New York: Network equipment maker Juniper Networks has reported strong quarterly results, as customers like AT&T boosted infrastructure spending after a year of budget cuts, reports Reuters. Juniper also forecast further improvement throughout 2010 and gave an outlook for the current quarter that was on the stronger side of analysts' forecasts. "We have come a long way from the economic uncertainty we were facing at this time just a year ago," Chief Executive Kevin Johnson told analysts on a conference call. Juniper's fourth-quarter revenue rose two percent from a year earlier to $941.5 million. Analysts, on average, had expected revenue to fall year-on-year to $884.8 million. Revenue also exceeded Juniper's own forecast range of $860 million to $895 million. Johnson said that the recovery in sales was broad-based, but said it won a number of big contracts from service providers. He cited a strong relationship with top U.S. phone company AT&T Inc, although he did not provide details. Juniper's fourth-quarter earnings excluding special items was flat from a year earlier at 32 cents a share, comfortably beating the Street's forecast of 26 cents. Net income fell slightly to $131.0 million, or 24 cents per share, from $132.5 million, or 25 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.