Brocade Communications Systems Rises 3% After Q4 Results

Brocade Communications Systems (NASDAQ: BRCD) is up more than three percent after reporting the firm's fourth quarter results.

The company's Q4 EPS came in at $0.24 versus the Street estimate of $0.18, beating by $0.06.

Earnings per share were up 41 percent from the year-ago period.

"Q4 was a quarter in which we executed successfully across many facets of our business strategy," Lloyd Carney, CEO of Brocade, said in a company release. "We exceeded expectations for non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP EPS, and cash flow despite the U.S. Federal budget issues and continued softness in the overall storage market.

"This resulted in record non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP EPS for both Q4 and fiscal 2013. Our solid performance in our fourth quarter was a great end to a transformative year for Brocade. I am pleased with the focus and execution of our team and excited about building upon our success in fiscal year 2014 and beyond."

Brocade Communications Systems expects to report a first quarter EPS between $0.19 and $0.21 versus Street estimate that's right in the middle at $0.20.

The company believes that its first quarter sales will be between $540 million and $560 million versus the Street estimate of $560 million.

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report.

Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ