Juniper Networks Inc., the second-largest maker of networking equipment, rose the most in more than four years in Nasdaq trading after boosting its annual profit and sales forecasts, bolstered by rising orders from phone companies.

Sales this year will climb to as much as $3.62 billion, compared with a previous estimate of as much as $3.55 billion, Chief Executive Officer Scott Kriens said. Profit, excluding stock-based compensation costs, will be $1.14 to $1.17 a share, up from a previous estimate of as much as $1.13.

Juniper is winning orders from phone and cable companies, which are upgrading networks to compete for customers wanting packages of phone, Internet and television service. The report reassured investors concerned that the slowing U.S. economy would crimp spending by communications service providers.

``The service provider business is a very good one,'' Kriens said in a telephone interview yesterday. Cable, phone, wireless and content companies are all expanding their systems, said Kriens, 50.

Juniper rose $4, or 18 percent, to $26.57 at 4 p.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market, the biggest jump since January 2004. The stock has dropped 20 percent this year.

Second-quarter net income climbed 40 percent to $120.4 million, or 22 cents a share, Sunnyvale, California-based Juniper said. Revenue jumped 32 percent to $879 million, beating the $849.7 million estimated by analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

Third-quarter revenue will be $925 million to $935 million, Kriens said on a conference call. Analysts on average projected $887.1 million. Profit, excluding some costs, will be 29 cents to 30 cents share. Analysts predicted 29 cents.

Last year, Juniper had about 16 percent of the $11.6 billion worldwide market for routers, which help direct Internet traffic, according to Redwood City, California-based researcher Dell'Oro Group. Cisco captured 65 percent.

Source:bloomberg