Sycamore Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: SCMR) reported disappointing financials in its fiscal first quarter, with revenues missing analyst expectations for the second quarter in a row.

For the quarter ended October 27, Sycamore reported net income of $7.0 million, or 2 cents per share, on revenues of $38 million. That compares with a net loss of $17.2 million, or 6 cents per share, on sales of $34.8 million in the year-ago quarter. (See Sycamore Reports Results.)

Non-GAAP net income was $10.4 million, or 4 cents per share, compared with $6.0 million, or 2 cents per share, for the previous year's first quarter.

The company's non-GAAP earnings were slightly above analyst estimates, at 4 cents per share versus Wall Street's expected 3 cents per share. And gross margins were strong, at 50 percent, against analyst expectations of 47 percent.

But Sycamore continued to disappoint with its top line, posting sales of $38 million, versus the consensus $41.3 million that Wall Street expected.

That marks the second quarter in a row that Sycamore missed revenue expectations. In the previous quarter, the company also reported sales of $38 million, against the consensus estimate of $46 million. (See Sycamore Loss Widens, CFO Steps Down and Sycamore Reports Results.)

Sycamore CEO Dan Smith said its best to view his company as a long-term story: "Factors in our business cause fluctuations in performance from period to period. However, when viewed from a perspective of several quarters, our operating results have shown consistent improvement. We believe that a long-term perspective is best in gaining a more comprehensive understanding of our business."

Despite the disappointing sales numbers for the quarter, the company is hopeful that it will produce revenues in fiscal 2008 above the full year 2007 sales of $156 million.

Counting on the company's new SN 9000 Multiservice Switch, Sycamore expects to expand its addressable market opportunity to reach more metro applications that it previously was unable to serve. (See Sycamore Intros Metro Switch and Sycamore Still Listed.)

Sycamore's new CFO, Paul Brauneis -- who spoke on the earnings call after just 10 days on the job -- said the company should soon be able to grow faster than the market, but he did not provide a timeline for beating the 10 percent to 15 percent growth he expects in telecom equipment sales. (See Sycamore Has New CFO.)

In afternoon trading, shares of Sycamore were down $0.24 (6.12%) to $3.68. In the last 12 months, Sycamore's stock has remained fairly flat, hopping up only as high as $4.35 and dropping only as low as $3.40.

— Ryan Lawler, Reporter, Light Reading