Cisco profits rise 44 per cent

Networking equipment maker Cisco posted a 44-per-cent rise in profits Wednesday as over two years of reorganisation and cost-cutting appeared to have paid off.

The company, which makes the routers and data equipment that run much of the internet’s traffic, said it earned 3.1 billion dollars in its fiscal second quarter, compared to 2.2 billion dollars a year earlier.

Revenue rose 5 per cent to 12.1 billion dollars from 11.5 billion dollars in the year-ago quarter.

"Cisco delivered record earnings per share this quarter and record revenue for the 8th quarter in a row in a challenging economic environment," said John Chambers, Cisco chairman and chief executive officer. "We continue to drive the innovation, quality and leadership our customers expect, and we remain focused on consistent returns to our shareholders."