Network traffic management and security firm F5 Networks Inc. delivered strong fiscal first-quarter results today, but its stock fell sharply on a warning about supply chain constraints throughout the rest of the year.

F5 posted net income of $179 million, or $2.89 per share, on revenue of $687 million, up 10% from the same period a year ago. The performance was better than expected, with Wall Street predicting earnings of just $2.46 per share on sales of $676 million.

President and Chief Executive Francois Locoh-Donou (pictured) said customers’ need to grow and evolve applications that support their businesses led to strong demand for its security and delivery products. “Demand for software solutions was particularly strong, with non-GAAP software revenue growing 47% compared to the same period in the prior year,” he added.

The company sells network security and traffic management tools for large enterprises. In recent times the company has made an aggressive push into software and services, moving beyond its traditional business model that was based on hardware sales. That push has been driven by a wave of acquisitions of companies such as Volterra Inc., which it snapped up for a reported $500 million in January, and the cloud security firm Threat Stack Inc., which was acquired for $68 million in September.

F5 said product revenue rose 19% in the first quarter, while its global services revenue inched up 2% from the year-ago period.

Despite the strong showing in the quarter just gone, investors were clearly more interested in what’s to come. F5’s stock fell almost 15% in after-hours trading after it posted disappointing guidance for the second quarter.

The company said it’s expecting current-quarter revenue of $610 million to $650 million, some way below Wall Street’s forecast of $692.29 million.

Locoh-Donou tried to explain the disparity in a conference call with analysts, saying the company’s ability to “meet customers” continued strong demand for its products will be “restricted” by supply chain constraints that it expects to hamper it for the remainder of the year.

“Demand drivers across our business are as strong as they have ever been,” the CEO added. “Customers increasingly see F5 as an innovator uniquely equipped to help them build and scale both their traditional and modern application environments with our software- and systems-based solutions.”

Photo: Amazon Web Services/YouTube