Radware Doubles Profits From 2003

Switch manufacturer Radware Ltd. (Nasdaq: RDWR) unveiled its third-quarter results today, posting record revenues of $17.6 million and diluted earnings per share of 19 cents. Revenues were up 25 percent on the third quarter of 2003, and earnings per share were almost double the year-ago figure.

Earnings per share were in line with analyst expectations, and revenues just topped predictions of $17.56 million.

Speaking on a conference call earlier today, Radware CEO Roy Zisapel attributed the companys performance to an improving global economic climate. “We see a strengthening environment,” he said. “The U.S., Europe, and Asia/Pacific are doing nicely.”

The company is also delivering on its promise to increase its stateside revenues, albeit slowly. Last quarter it announced plans to expand the U.S. side of its business, which then represented 42 percent of its total revenues (see Radware Rings Up Q2).

On today's conference call, execs confirmed that this figure is now at 43 percent. “We’re seeing much better execution in the U.S. and, as a result, much better numbers,” said Zisapel.Zisapel, however, was unwilling to give too much away on the successor to the company’s 3-Gbit/s Application Switch III, which is aimed at ISPs.

The coy CEO told analysts that Application Switch IV will only be announced once the product is shipping, although he gave no indication of when this is likely to be. “We will update you when the time is right."

Surprisingly, Radware execs made no significant reference to the long-running cookie patent lawsuit with F5 Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: FFIV) that was finally resolved last month (see Radware/F5 Cookie Lawsuit Crumbles).

This could be due to the fact that the two vendors have only partially patched up their differences -- another patent infringement lawsuit is still outstanding. In July, Radware filed a lawsuit in a New Jersey court alleging that F5 infringed one of its key technology patents (see Radware Fixes Legal Guns on F5).

The market responded negatively to today’s results. In early trading this morning, Radware shares fell 96 cents (4.07 percent) to $22.61.— James Rogers, Site Editor, Next-gen Data Center Forum