MMC said the lower sales to Cisco are the result of a product transition and delay of a new product. Based on a recent forecast from and discussions with Cisco, MMC now expects fourth quarter sales to Cisco to be less than half the amount sold in the company's third quarter ended Sept. 30. In October, MMC tanked after its chief financial officer, Uday Bellary, resigned amid news the company would see sales declines in its fourth quarter due to a loss of business to IBM. MMC said IBM's exit from the LAN switch/router business might result in a 5 to 10 percent sequential decline in its fourth quarter. "While we are clearly disappointed with our expected fourth quarter results, our relationship with Cisco continues to be strong," said Doug Spreng, president and chief executive officer. MMC also said it is continuing to broaden its customer base, and expects new products aimed at one of the highest growth segments of the market - Layer 3, policy-based switches.