Brocade: Fiscal 2Q13 Financial Results …

Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. reported financial results for its third fiscal quarter ended July 28, 2012.

It reported third quarter revenue of $555.3 million, representing an increase of 10% year-over-year and 2% quarter-over-quarter.

The resulting GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.09, was up from break-even EPS in Q3 2011, and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.14, was up 59% year-over-year.

"Fiscal Q3 was a great quarter for Brocade. With continued differentiation in our products and focused execution across our organization, we were able to overcome many issues in the current challenging macroeconomic environment. As a result, our financial performance in the quarter exceeded our expectations for revenue, operating margin and earnings per share," said Michael Klayko, CEO of Brocade.

Summary of Q3 2012 results:

• Storage business revenue, including products and services, was $377.6 million, up 13% year-over-year and down 6% sequentially. Storage product revenue increased 17% year-over-year and decreased 6% sequentially, in a seasonally soft quarter for the company. Brocade’s 16 Gbps FC products represented nearly 30% of director and switch revenue in the quarter.
• Ethernet business revenue, including products and services, was $177.8 million, up 5% year-over-year and up 24% quarter-over-quarter. Revenue growth for the Ethernet business was driven by an increase in Federal sales, which were up 40% year-over-year and 108% quarter-over-quarter. Enterprise business revenue was up 2% year-over-year and up 21% quarter-over-quarter as the Brocade ICX products continue to ramp. Service provider business revenue was up slightly quarter-over-quarter and down 5% year-over-year.
• GAAP gross margin was 61.3% and non-GAAP gross margin was 63.7% in Q3 2012, compared to 61.0% and 61.8% in Q3 2011, respectively. The year-over-year improvement in gross margin was due to higher revenue, favorable product mix and lower fixed costs. Gross margin declined sequentially, as expected, driven by a greater mix of lower margin Ethernet revenue in Q3 2012.
• GAAP operating margin was 12.6% and non-GAAP operating margin was 19.5% in Q3 2012, compared to 6.8% and 14.0% in Q3 2011, respectively. The year-over-year improvement in operating margin was due to higher revenue and expanded gross margin in Q3 2012. Operating margin improved quarter-over-quarter on higher revenue and lower operating expenses.
• Operating cash flow was $113.1 million in Q3 2012. During the quarter, the company reduced its term loan by $40.0 million. The remaining term loan balance was $30.0 million exiting the quarter.
• GAAP EPS was $0.09 in Q3 2012, and non-GAAP EPS of $0.14 was up 59% year-over-year, which marks the fourth consecutive quarter of non-GAAP EPS year-over-year growth of nearly 20% or more.
• Average diluted shares outstanding for Q3 2012 were lower by 40.0 million shares from Q3 2011, principally from share repurchases during the past year including 8.7 million shares ($45 million) repurchased during Q3 2012.