Networks giant Cisco has reported strong fourth quarter 2010 results, with sales of $10.8bn, an increase of more than 28% compared to Q4 2009.

For the company's Q4 2010 period, which ended 31 July, the company's net income increased from $1.1bn to $1.9bn, compared to the same period in 2009, representing a rise in profit of 79%.

Among other announcements for Q4, Cisco released its FabricPath networking technology under its Cisco Data Center 3.0 strategy, which increases virtualized and cloud-based flexibility. It also released its energy management solutions for utilities and businesses to help monitor and manage energy consumption.

Cisco chairman and CEO John Chambers said: "Whether the global economy continues to show mixed signals or not, the strength of our financial model and profit generation serves us well. As we continue to successfully grow our business and share of IT investments, our focus is squarely on helping our customers accelerate productivity and growth.

"We are very confident in our strategy, and will continue to aggressively move into new areas where the network is becoming the platform, and where our customers want us to invest and innovate."

This article first appeared on Computer Weekly