[December 03, 2008] UPDATE 1-Cisco CEO comfortable with long-term rev outlook Tweet NEW YORK, Dec 04, 2008 (Reuters via COMTEX) -- Cisco Systems Inc's chief executive stood by his long-term revenue forecast, despite concerns that a deep and prolonged U.S. recession could derail the company's growth plans. CEO John Chambers has targeted revenue growth of 12 percent to 17 percent a year in the long run, even though the company has forecast revenue will be down 5 percent to 10 percent in the current quarter from a year earlier. "We're very comfortable, with the appropriate normal economic conditions, of growing our business in the 12 to 17 percent range," Chambers told a Credit Suisse technology conference. "With appropriate caveats, we think the odds of achieving this are very good." While Cisco has not been immune to the slower technology spending, Chambers has said customers will eventually need to buy more Cisco equipment to cope with growing Internet traffic. Cisco shares reversed their early losses and traded up 3 percent at $15.77 in late-morning dealings. Chambers emphasized the company's ability to grow market share even in a downturn, and said it would remain aggressive in technology development and acquisitions of small companies despite the general slowdown. He also said the company did not play major layoffs at this point, although it recently halted hiring and plans to shut down most of its U.S. and Canadian operations for several days around the year-end to cut costs. Since Chambers took over as CEO in January 1995, Cisco's annual revenue has grown from $1.2 billion to around $40 billion as the expansion of the Internet fueled demand for routers and switches that direct online traffic. (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; editing by John Wallace) Keywords: CISCO/OUTLOOK ([email protected]; +1 646 223 6084; Reuters Messaging: [email protected]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. MMMM [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]