Ciena Tops Q2 Views

reported stronger-than-expected results for the fiscal second quarter on Thursday. For the current quarter, Ciena projects revenue of $610 million to $640 million. Analysts expected revenue of $632 million. The Hanover, Maryland-based company reported a quarterly profit of $20.7 million, or $0.17 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $10.2 million, or $0.10 per share. Excluding certain items, the company's profit increased to $0.35 per share from $0.17 per share. Its revenue gained 11 percent year-over-year to $621.6 million from $560.1 million. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.24 per share on revenue of $606.5 million. The average estimate among 11 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.24 per share and revenue of $607.83 million. Revenue in its converged packet optical market climbed 21 percent to $432.9 million, while revenue in Packet Networking slipped to $53.3 million. Its gross margin widened to 43.8 percent from 42.4 percent, while operating margin expanded to 6.8 percent from 1.3 percent. "We delivered outstanding second quarter results that, when combined with our strong financial performance during the past several quarters, demonstrate increased operating leverage and sustained momentum in our business," said Gary B. Smith, president and CEO, Ciena. "This performance also reflects our industry-leading ability to deliver open, on-demand, software-driven networks for an increasingly diverse set of customers across the globe." Ciena shares rose 0.99 percent to close at $24.44 yesterday.