Ciena Sees Earnings, Revenue Climb

Communications-equipment maker Ciena (CIEN Quote) said its fiscal second-quarter profit nearly doubled from a year ago on better-than-expected sales results.

The Linthicum, Md., company said it had a profit of $23.8 million, or 23 cents a share, up from $13 million, or 14 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding items, Ciena earned 40 cents a share in the quarter.

Revenue in the quarter jumped 25% from a year earlier to $242.2 million and was up 7% sequentially.

Wall Street was expecting a profit of 37 cents a share on revenue of $238.3 million, according to Thomson Reuters. Still, shares of Ciena were down $1.28, or 4.2%, to $29.18.

Additionally, the company reiterated its forecast that fiscal full-year sales will increase 27% above the previous year's level to $990.4 million. That compares to analysts' estimates of $985.5 million.

"Ciena continues to execute against a business plan and strategy that has driven faster-than-market growth while delivering solid operating margin and net income," said CEO Gary Smith in a press release. "In a highly competitive market, Ciena differentiates itself with targeted, innovative solutions and our implementation of automated, software-centric networks that power new applications and help our customers realize the economic benefits of a single, converged network infrastructure."

Ciena's positive earnings growth is surprising considering the woes facing competitors Nortel (NT Quote), Alcatel-Lucent (ALU Quote), and Tellabs (TLAB Quote), all of which have swung the ax as part of restructuring plans.