UPDATE 3-Cisco beats forecasts, points to recovery

* Fiscal Q1 rev $9.0 bln vs Wall St view $8.7 bln

* EPS ex-items $0.36 vs Street forecast $0.31

* Sees Q2 rev up 1-4 pct y/y, beats Wall Street view

* Shares rise 3.7 pct after-hours (Adds outlook, CEO comments and analyst quote)

By Ritsuko Ando

NEW YORK, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit and signaled that recovery was well on its way, as businesses are investing in network equipment again after cutting back for the past year.

Chief Executive John Chambers gave a revenue forecast for the current quarter, its fiscal second, that topped Wall Street expectations and said that business conditions had hit bottom at least six months ago. Shares of Cisco rose 3.7 percent.

"Q4 fiscal 09, as we indicated in last quarter's conference call, looking back, was clearly the tipping point," Chambers told analysts on a conference call on Wednesday.

Cisco also said its board of directors authorized up to $10 billion in additional share repurchases, bringing its total outstanding repurchasing program to around $13.1 billion.