Juniper Profit Climbs 59%

(RTTNews) - Computer networking gear maker Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) said Thursday after the markets closed that its fourth quarter profit surged 59% from last year, helped by higher revenue and improved margins.

The company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, also came in above analysts' expectations as did its quarterly revenue. At the same time, the company gave an in line forecast for the current quarter.

"In the fourth quarter of 2013, we delivered our sixth consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue growth, and expanded operating margins to the highest level in 11 quarters," said Robyn Denholm, chief financial and operations officer of Juniper Networks.

Juniper shares are currently gaining 2.38% in after hours trading after closing the day's regular trading session at $26.01, down 17 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $15.62 to $26.52.

The Sunnyvale, California-based company reported reported net income for the fourth quarter of $151.8 million or $0.30 per share, compared to $95.7 million or $0.19 per share for the year-ago quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted net income for the fourth quarter was $215.8 million or $0.43 per share, compared to $144.6 million or $0.28 per share in the prior year quarter.

On average, 33 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.37 per share for the fourth quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Reported operating margin for the quarter improved to 15.3% from 11.5% from a year ago, while adjusted operating margin increased to 21.9% from 18.2% last year.

Net revenues for the fourth quarter rose 12% to $1.27 billion from $1.14 billion in the same quarter last year. Fourth quarter revenue grew 7% sequentially. Thirty-two analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $1.22 billion for the fourth quarter.

For the fourth quarter, the company's Americas revenue increased 13%, while Europe, Middle East, and Africa revenue grew 6% and Asia Pacific revenue surged 18% from a year earlier.

Juniper Networks repurchased 11.8 million shares during the fourth quarter for a total of $242 million, taking the full year total to 28.9 million shares purchased for 571 million.

Looking forward to the first quarter, the company forecasts revenue of $1.12 billion to $1.16 billion and adjusted earnings of $0.27 to $0.30 per share. Analysts currently expect the company to earn $0.29 per share on revenue of $1.14 billion for the first quarter.

Shaygan Kheradpir succeeded retiring Kevin Johnson as Juniper's chief executive officer, effective January 1. Kheradpir joined Juniper from Barclays Plc, where he served as the chief operations and technology officer.

Earlier this month, hedge fund Elliott Management urged Juniper Networks to return more cash to shareholders, cut costs and optimize its product portfolio to unlock significant value at the company.

Elliott, which owns 6.2% stake in Juniper, wants the company to cut operating costs by $200 million in 2014, with its research funds spent on key businesses. Elliott also wants Juniper to announce a new $3.5 billion share buyback and dividend program, consisting of an immediate $2.5 billion repurchase in 2014, a $1 billion repurchase in 2015, and a $0.125 per share quarterly dividend.