First quarter revenue at Juniper Networks dropped almost US$160 millionas the recession grabbed the network equipment maker. The company saidThursday that net revenue for the quarter ending March 31 was $764.2million (all figures in U.S. dollars), down from $923.5 million in theprevious quarter. That was less than the $800-to-$830 million thecompany anticipated for the quarter. It also represented a seven percent drop in revenue for the first quarter of 2008. The company postedGAAP (generally accepted accounting procedures) net loss of $4.5million, which included a non-recurring $61.8 million non-cash chargedue to a change in California income tax law enacted during the firstquarter. “Juniper has responded well to the challenging macroeconomicenvironment,” CEO Kevin Johnson said in a statement. “Our focus remainson balancing short-term market realities with our commitment tocreating long-term shareholder value. We’re doing that by aggressivelyand thoughtfully managing operating expenses to ensure that we maintainstrong levels of investment in our innovation and customer focusedinitiatives. Our March quarter results indicate that we’re executing onthis plan, as operating margin was better than expected and new productintroductions in our EX, SRX and TX lines are gaining good tractionwith customers.” Juniper’s operating margin for the first quarter of2009 declined to 10.6 per cent on a GAAP basis from 17.3 per cent inthe same quarter a year ago.