Cisco boss says sorry for poor sales

CISCO BOSS John Chambers has been saying he is really sorry for issuing a prediction of weak sales which sparked a sell-off in the company's shares.

Chambers said the company was caught off guard by a sudden drop in orders from public sector clients in the last few weeks of its fiscal first quarter that ended October 30.

He told an annual meeting of shareholders, held in Santa Clara, California and webcast live that he hated to be unpredictable, and "this clearly was a disappointment for us."

Just to make sure they got the message he added "I am sorry ... I'm really disappointed... I consider both transparency and consistency very important. We won't surprise you very often, and I apologise that we did."

Shareholders applauded his honesty and Cisco shares closed up 1.06 per cent. However this is small consolation as they are still 20 percent lower than what they were last week, when the company forecast revenue growth of 9 to 12 per cent in fiscal 2011.

While you would think that would be ok, analysts had been predicting 13 per cent. They had also expected a better growth projection for 3 to 5 per cent.
Chambers said conditions were mixed in Europe, where debt-burdened governments have been cutting back on spending. µ