Brocade Results Surpass Estimates

(RTTNews) - Brocade Communications Systems Inc (BRCD) on Thursday reported first-quarter net earnings of $87.3 million or $0.20 per share compared with $81 million or $0.18 per share last year.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $0.27 per share compared with $0.24 per share a year ago.

Revenues for the quarter were up at $576 million compared with $565 million in the prior year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.24 per share on revenues of $569.8 million for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Gross margin for the quarter improved to 67.6% from 66% last year, and operating margin rose to 24.2% from 21.5%.

"We delivered double-digit revenue growth in IP Networking year-over-year and one of the strongest SAN quarters in company history, resulting in increased profitability," said Lloyd Carney, CEO of Brocade.

"With a strong focus on the data center, we continue to invest strategically in disruptive technologies to build a portfolio of solutions that capitalize on the opportunities afforded to first-movers in the New IP era."

Brocade has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.035 per share.

Brocade provides storage area networking (SAN) and Internet protocol networking solutions.