Brocade feeling down

Storage and Ethernet network switch supplier expects weaker Q2 revenues.

Brocade has reset Q2 revenue expectations lower, citing a weak SAN market and continued IP networking headwinds. Instead of revenues between $542m to $562m, it now expects them to be between $518m to $528m. This is $523m at the mid-point, 4.4 per cent down on a year ago. CEO Lloyd Carney talked of a general softness in IT spending. William Blair analyst Jason Ader said: "We suspect that weak systems sales, as well as a general shift to IP connectivity in storage, may have finally caught up to Brocade's FC networking business. To a lesser extent, Brocade may also be suffering from customers waiting for the next product cycle (32 Gbit/s), which is expected to kick in toward the end of the calendar year." Full results are expected on 19 May. ®