Cisco Systems has announced it will lower its full-year profit forecast due to several factors, including the lockdown in China and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Cisco now expects revenue growth of 2% to 3% for fiscal 2022, compared to an earlier forecast of 5.5% to 6.5%. Adjusted earnings are estimated between $3.29 and $3.37 per share, up from $3.41 to $3.46 per share previously.
“We believe that there’s going to be lots of competition for ports capacity, airport capacity. That, combined with the inbound efforts, trying to get raw materials back into the company, et cetera, we believe it’s going to be impossible for us to catch up on this issue in Q4,” said finance chief Scott Herren.
The software company posted lower than expected revenue in the third quarter. Faced with worsening supply chain problems caused by Beijing’s “Zero COVID” policy, the company forecast a 1% decline in fourth-quarter revenue to 5.5%.
In the third quarter, Cisco posted an adjusted profit of 87 cents on revenue of $12.8 billion, compared with expectations of 86 cents on revenue of $13.87 billion.