Keysight Technologies closed out its fiscal year with record revenue of $5.46 billion, up 1% from $5.42 billion last year. Net income was down 6% to $1.06 billion, compared to $1.12 billion during the company’s fiscal 2022.
However, Keysight’s fiscal fourth quarter of 2023 was somewhat slow compared to the same time last year, with revenues down 9% to $1.31 billion from $1.44 billion and profits down 24% for the quarter at $226 million, compared with $299 million in the prior period.
Satish Dhanasekaran, Keysight’s president and CEO, called those quarterly results “solid,” though, especially considering the economic climate. “In what remains a challenging macro environment, our strategic customer engagement is high, and we are continuing to capitalize on opportunities across a broad and diverse set of end markets, positioning us well for an eventual recovery,” he said.
The telecom industry is seeing a general slow-down in network-related spending both due to the first wave of 5G investments hitting a lull and companies are working through inventory that they stockpiled as a result of supply-chain shortages during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In terms of performance by Keysight business segments, Keysight’s Communications Solutions Group (CSG) reported revenues of $891 million for the fiscal fourth quarter—that’s a 10% year-over-year drop, and reflects an even bigger drop of 17% in revenues from commercial communications customers, Keysight said. Meanwhile, aerospace, defense and government customers increased their spending by 4%, focusing on investments in “defense technology modernization, electromagnetic spectrum operations, radar, and space and satellite,” according to the test company.
Keysight’s Electronic Industrial Solutions Group (EISG) also saw a drop, but a smaller one: Revenues were down 7% from the same time last year, which the company attributed to “contraction in semiconductor and manufacturing-related customer spending.” Related revenues from digital health, advanced research and automotive mobility held steady, Keysight added.
The company expects its revenues for the first fiscal quarter of 2024 to land in the range of $1.235-$1.255 billion.
