Cisco's Growth Halt as Revenue Drops by 6% Globally and 1.5% in Indian Market

Networking giant Cisco, which is celebrating its 40th year, has hit a speed bump after witnessing a remarkable growth break in FY23. The company's revenue rocketed 40% in the previous fiscal year, but this momentum slowed down considerably.

Cisco India, specifically, saw its revenue decline under 1.5%, reaching ₹12,074.5 crore, a significant slowdown compared to turbocharged growth in the previous fiscal year. This is reflective of Cisco's global performance as well, where its revenue dropped by 6% to $53.8 billion for FY 2023-24.

The company attributed this decline to its weaker networking business. However, Splunk, which was acquired by Cisco in a deal worth $28 billion in 2023, contributed approximately $1.4 billion of the total revenue, but also had a negative impact on Cisco's results.

This year, Cisco began manufacturing operations in India at its first facility launched in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, with plans to roll out routing and switching products for domestic and export markets. The site was expected to drive $1.3 billion in revenue and create 1,200 jobs but has been impacted by the company's previously announced workforce reduction plan.

Earlier this year, Cisco also launched a new cloud region hosted within India called Meraki India Region, to comply with data localization norms.

Despite the slowdown, Daisy Chittilapilly, President of Cisco India and SAARC, remains bullish on the Indian market, stating that it is expected to be among the top five markets for Cisco in the next few years.