Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins (pictured) stated aggressive supply chain measures the vendor took over several quarters helped improve profitability in its fiscal Q2 2023 (the period to 28 January), but cautioned components for a few product areas remained highly constrained.

On an earnings call, Robbins argued the company was better positioned than “at any time since I became CEO almost eight years ago”, despite a challenging environment.

Robbins spearheaded a shift towards software-based services from Cisco’s traditional network hardware business.

The CEO noted the recent quarter marked an increase in “product deliveries” and “significant reductions in customer lead times” following “aggressive actions” around product design by Cisco’s supply chain and engineering teams.

Software revenue of $4.2 billion was up 10 per cent on the same period of fiscal 2022.

Overall revenue rose 7 per cent to $13.6 billion and net income of $2.7 billion was down 7 per cent.