F5 Networks Inc, the global leader in Application Delivery Networking, announced preliminary results on Tuesday, reporting 23 percent sequential growth for the first quarter of fiscal 2009 and exceeded the company's own expectation of earnings per share.

F5 Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) said Tuesday that fiscal 2Q profit exceeded the company's guidance GAAP EPS $0.19 - $0.21. It is now expected to be $0.23 to $0.24 per diluted share and Non-GAAP EPS is expected to be $0.37 to $0.38 per diluted share.

That is within the company's guided range of $0.36 to $0.38 per diluted share based on preliminary results.

However, F5 revenue was lower than expected, revenue for the quarter is expected to be $154.1 million compared to the company's guidance of $157 million - $164 million while cash flow is expected to be $39 million from a previous estimate of $35 million.

According to F5 president and chief executive officer John McAdam, sales during the second quarter were slower than expected across all geographic regions. Revenue from the company's application delivery controller business was flat compared with the second quarter of last year but down sequentially from the first quarter of fiscal 2009. Revenue from the company's file virtualization business was down year over year but grew approximately 23 percent sequentially from the first quarter of fiscal 2009.

The company plans to report its final results for the quarter later this month.