Ciena's preliminary Q1 2012 results fall below forecasts

Ciena (Nasdaq: CIEN) is feeling the pain of international service providers' longer revenue recognition cycles as the vendor reported that its preliminary Q1 2012 results won't meet its initial targets.

Gary Smith, Ciena

Smith

The vendor reported that preliminary revenue will be about $415 million, lower than its previous forecast of $435 to $455 million.

Likewise, the company said it expects to report adjusted (non-GAAP) operating expenses in the mid $170s million range, down from the $180s million range it initially predicted.

"As previously stated, we continue to experience longer customer deployment and revenue recognition cycles as a result of our greater mix of international and solutions-oriented sales," said Gary Smith, president and CEO of Ciena, in statement. "When combined with the impact of the seasonality of our business and the calendar timing of our first fiscal quarter, this trend had a more significant effect than previously anticipated, and resulted in revenue recognition delays on a few solutions-oriented projects with new customers, especially in international markets."

Despite the disappointing preliminary report, Smith said that "product orders grew approximately 20 percent year-on-year, shipments were strong, and our ending backlog increased for the quarter," adding that "we expect to be cash flow positive from operations and to achieve positive free cash flow for the quarter."

Ciena is not the only vendor that's been feeling the pain of slower service provider spending. Juniper (NYSE: JNPR) and Tellabs (Nasdaq: TLAB) saw the effects of slower carrier spending in their recent Q4 2011 financial reports.  

For more:
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