Management said it expects to be able to get enough semiconductors to achieve its full-year financial forecast.
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Juniper Networks shares gained after management disclosed better-than-expected profits, but also said the business continues to be affected by shortages of components.
For the first quarter. the networking-equipment company (ticker: JNPR) posted revenue of $1.07 billion, up 8% from a year earlier, and slightly ahead of the Wall Street consensus for $1.06 billion. Adjusted profits were 30 cents a share, a nickel ahead of the Street consensus. Under generally accepted accounting principles, the company lost 10 cents a share. Non-GAAP operating margin expanded to 12.1%, from 10.2% a year ago.
For the June quarter, Juniper projected revenue of $1.14 billion, up about 5% from a year ago, and just ahead of the Street consensus of $1.13 billion. The company sees non-GAAP profits for the quarter of 38 cents a share, a penny better than the Wall Street consensus.
“Revenue exceeded our expectations and we experienced better than expected product orders across each of our customer verticals,”CEO Rami Rahim said in a statement.. “Momentum is strong entering the June quarter and we are confident regarding our growth prospects.” The CEO cited efforts to improve both Juniper’s portfolio of products and its marketing.
Juniper noted, though, that it has had to work around parts shortages.
“There is a worldwide shortage of semiconductors impacting many industries,” the company said. “Similar to others, we are experiencing ongoing supply constraints which have resulted in extended lead times. We have invested to strengthen our supply chain and have increased inventory levels over the course of the last year.”
Still, it said, it expects problems will last for the next few quarters. “While the situation is dynamic, at this point in time, we believe we will have access to sufficient semiconductor supply to meet our full-year financial forecast,” it said.
In late trading, the stock was up 2.9%, to $26.
Write to Eric J. Savitz at [email protected]
