Revenue

Aether Systems Inc., the fast-growing wireless applications services company in Owings Mills, reported after the stock market closed yesterday that second-quarter revenue and losses soared as the company pursued an aggressive growth strategy aimed at taking the dominant spot in an emerging industry. For the quarter, which ended June 30, Aether said it booked a net loss of $90 million, or $2.36 cents a share, on revenue of $10 million. For the corresponding quarter last year, the company reported a net loss of $2.9 million, or 15 cents a share, on $443,000 in revenue.

Legg Mason Inc.'s net income soared 50 percent and revenue jumped 33 percent in the first quarter of its fiscal year, as retail and institutional investors poured money into the company's mutual funds and fixed-income services.Revenue, income and income per share reached all-time highs for the quarter that ended June 30, the company said yesterday.Revenue rose to $248.7 million in the first quarter, up from $186.6 million in the corresponding period a year earlier. Net income surged to $24.4 million in the quarter, up from $16.3 million in the year-earlier period.

Columbia-based Essex Corp. said yesterday that a 15 percent drop in revenue in the quarter than ended Sept. 27 was directly related to the loss of a Department of Energy training contract in November 1991. But an improvement in bottom-line results for the quarter was attributed, in part, to the completion of several fixed-price programs. The high-tech company supplies training products, as well as image processing equipment, to government and commercial clients. The firm's comparable quarter in 1991 ended Sept.

Cel-Sci Corp. reported yesterday that it lost $8.2 million on revenue of $438,145 for its 1997 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30.In 1996, the publicly held company reported a $6.3 million loss on revenue of $322,370.Revenue for the Alexandria-based biotechnology company, which has research headquarters at the Seton Business Park in Baltimore, is largely derived from interest on investments.The company said the increased loss in 1997 was primarily the result of Cel-Sci acquiring the rights to two vaccine technologies.

SafeNet Inc., a White Marsh-based Internet security company, reported slightly higher first-quarter revenue and earnings yesterday, in line with revised forecasts, and said it did not expect business to improve next quarter. The Baltimore County company reported revenue of $6 million for the three months ended March 31, compared to $5.8 million for the corresponding quarter last year. Net income was $431,000, or 6 cents per diluted share, compared to $357,000, or 5 cents per diluted share, in 2000.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Cisco Systems Inc., the No. 1 maker of Internet equipment, said yesterday that its fiscal first-quarter earnings rose 92 percent. Revenue and profit, excluding acquisition-related costs, increased more than analysts forecast. Cisco shares fell $1.63 to $55.13 on the Nasdaq stock market before the earnings report, pulling technology stocks lower. Its stock lost another 75 cents to $54.38 in after-hours trading - even though the results were better than expected. Net income rose to $798 million, or 11 cents a share, compared with $415 million, or 6 cents, a year earlier.

Alex. Brown Inc. reported more sparkling financial results yesterday as its revenue for the third quarter soared by 45 percent compared with the same period last year and its profit rose by even more: 73 percent.Lifted by corporations eager to issue stock and investors equally keen to buy it, Brown is headed toward one of its best years ever.The Baltimore-based investment house has earned $4.06 per share for the year through September -- a record. And some Wall Street analysts say that Brown could beat its all-time full-year high of $5.61 per share set in 1993, according to I/B/E/S Earnings Estimates.

Legg Mason Inc.'s net income soared 34 percent and revenue rose 11 percent in its fiscal third quarter as assets under management ballooned to record levels, the company said yesterday.The Baltimore-based brokerage and money management firm made $22.8 million in the three months that ended Dec. 31 on revenue of $260.5 million. That compared with earnings of $17 million on revenue of $235.2 million in the year-ago period. Basic earnings per share increased 32 percent to 41 cents in the quarter, up from 31 cents a year earlier.

Ciena Corp. said yesterday that revenue for its second quarter is expected to fall nearly $50 million below analysts' expectations because of uncertainty in the market. The Linthicum maker of fiber-optic equipment also reported yesterday that its losses widened in the first fiscal quarter and that revenue was less than half of what it was for the corresponding quarter in its last fiscal year. The quarter ended Jan. 31. The news sent Ciena's shares tumbling $1.10 - or more than 12.6 percent - to close at $7.60, the lowest closing price since January 1999 and 91 percent lower than their 52-week high of $84.25.

Caliber Learning Network Inc. reported yesterday that it narrowed its second-quarter loss on sharply higher revenue and announced that it has launched an Internet-based learning service.The Baltimore-based company, which offers distance-learning services for corporations and universities, posted a loss of $6.1 million, or 50 cents a diluted share, compared with a loss of $6.6 million, or 60 cents a diluted share, for the same period last year.Shares outstanding in the quarter rose to 12.3 million from 11.1 million in the same quarter last year.