US networking giant Cisco Systems has posted a first-quarter net loss of $268 million.
The figures beat Wall Street's expectations and sent shares of the company higher in after-hours trading.
For the three months ending October 27th, it lost 4 cents per share, compared with a profit of $798 million, or 11 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
Excluding one-time items, the company earned $332 million compared with $1.4 billion a year ago.
Cisco suffered as businesses in general telecommunications companies specifically cut back spending.
Chief executive Mr John Chambers said: "Given the very challenging economic and capital spending environment, we were pleased to deliver a solid quarter with good linearity, sequential revenue growth and profitable market share gains".
Shares moved up 75 cents, or 4 per cent, to $18.65 in after-hours trading.
PA