* Extreme Networks’ revenue, earnings up
Extreme Networks last week reported that it is once again making money at the LAN switch business.
Specifically, Extreme released a financial report that shows a net income of $12.9 million, or a dime a share, on revenue of $383.3 million in its most recent fiscal year, which ended July 3. The last fiscal year in which Extreme recorded a net profit was 2000, when it made $20 million.
Extreme has been working its way out of a hole for the last couple of years; last year it came close, losing only $1.7 million on $351.8 million in revenue.
In addition to becoming profitable once again, Extreme is also growing revenue for the first time in several years. Since its peak in 2001, net revenue has drifted downward, from $491.2 million in fiscal 2001 to $351.8 million in fiscal 2004.
Apparently, Extreme could have done even better this year if it didn’t have to defend itself in the courtroom. Extreme had to subtract $2.8 million from its profits in the fourth quarter for litigation expenses associated with a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Lucent.
A couple months ago http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/051205-lucent-extreme.html?rl Lucent won one of its five patent infringement claims against Extreme, but the jury awarded Lucent just $275,000 in damages. Lucent could have gotten as much as $16.4 million.
Extreme attributes its return to profitability in part to the market taking to its converged network products. Extreme CEO Gordon Stitt said in a statement that this acceptance “has enabled us to grow sales while improving our margins and increasing profitability.”
