The network equipment sector thus far had shown some resilience to the economic downturn, but not any more! The fourth-quarter results of Juniper Networks Inc, and the company's outlook for 2009, clearly indicate a slowdown in technology spending.

Though the cost cuts undertaken by Juniper helped it achieve the estimated profit figures for the fourth quarter, the company's revenue figures were a disappointment even for the investors.

The 14 percent rise in Juniper's revenue of $923.5 million for the fourth quarter was at the low side of its October estimates of revenue between $921 million and $971 million. The revenue figures also fell short of the $936.5 million average estimates by the analysts.

Meanwhile, the quarterly profit at Juniper - with items like stock-based compensation expense excluded - increased to 32 cents per share from 27 cents a year before; fairly in line with the 33 cents per share average Wall Street estimates.

The Sunnyvale-based Juniper, which sells high-performance routers to communications service providers, anticipates adjusted earnings in the first quarter this year to be
15-17 cents a share on revenue between $800 million and $830 million. These figures are much below the market estimates of 28 cents a share earning, on $887 million revenue.

Even as Juniper CEO Kevin Johnson said that the demand for advanced network equipment is likely to continue, the company refrained from giving a 2009 revenue outlook, expecting the "lumpiness" to continue!