Ciena says it will keep acquiring, too. Besides Akara, excecutives say it plans $15 million in additional investment in private companies this quarter. While speculation's rampant about what may be on Ciena's wish list (see Is Ciena Eyeing Luminous & Laurel?), no details were offered. One thing, though: Execs make it clear Ciena might invest where partners are needed to meet some of the RFPs (requests for proposal) that have cropped up this past quarter, for which the company sees good opportunities (see Analysts Narrow RFP Odds).
Ciena claims seven new customers during the quarter, for a total of 72, in part thanks to the WaveSmith acquisition, which brought in SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE: SBC). Two customers, unnamed, accounted for 23 percent of revenues this quarter, but that figure was down from 43 percent last quarter.
Smith said revenue next quarter "is likely to be between 5 percent up or down from our fiscal third quarter revenue, depending on the timing of significant orders."
Ciena shares were trading at $5.77, down $0.05 (0.91%), after this morning's report.
Mary Jander, Senior Editor, Light Reading
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