San Francisco, Nov 13 (IANS): Cisco has reported revenue of $11.9 billion in its fiscal first quarter that ended on October 24 against $11.85 billion as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv data.

The total Q1 revenue of $11.9 billion was, however, down 9 per cent year-over-year, Cisco said on Thursday.

The networking giant reported net income on a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis of $2.2 billion or $0.51 per share, and non-GAAP net income of $3.2 billion or $0.76 per share.

"Cisco is off to a solid start in fiscal 2021 and we are encouraged by the signs of improvement in our business as we continue to navigate the pandemic and other macro uncertainties," Chuck Robbins, Chairman and CEO of Cisco, said in a statement.

"Our focus is on winning with a differentiated innovative portfolio, long-term growth and being a trusted technology partner offering choice and flexibility to our customers. We see many great opportunities ahead as every company in every industry is accelerating its digital-first strategy."

In the first quarter of fiscal 2021, Cisco returned $2.3 billion to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends.

The company declared and paid a cash dividend of $0.36 per common share, or $1.5 billion, and repurchased approximately 20 million shares of common stock under its stock repurchase programme at an average price of $40.44 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $800 million.

"Our Q1 results reflect good execution with strong margins in a challenging environment," said Kelly Kramer, CFO of Cisco.

"We continued to transform our business through more software offerings and subscriptions, driving 10 per cent year over year growth in remaining performance obligations. We delivered strong growth in operating cash flow and returned $2.3 billion to shareholders."

Cisco expects to post even better results in fiscal second quarter.