(In the sixth paragraph corrects to say, Cisco shares have fallen around 20 percent since the middle of last week, instead of Cisco shares have fallen around 20 percent since Wednesday.)
* Chambers says unlikely to lose share in core business
* Names biggest competitor as Huawei
* Shares down 20 pct since announcement
NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc
He also said the network equipment maker was unlikely to lose market share in its core business of routing and switching, although he noted strong competition and named Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] as its biggest rival.
Chambers, one of Silicon Valley's longest-serving chief executives, said the company was caught off guard by a sudden drop in orders from public sector clients in the last few weeks of its fiscal first quarter that ended Oct. 30.
"I hate being unpredictable, and this clearly was a disappointment for us," he told an annual meeting of shareholders.
"I am sorry ... I'm really disappointed," he said. "I consider both transparency and consistency very important. We won't surprise you very often, and I apologize that we did."
Cisco shares have fallen around 20 percent since the middle of last week, when the company forecast revenue growth of 9 to 12 percent in fiscal 2011, well below the 13 percent analysts had expected. A projection for 3 to 5 percent revenue growth in the second quarter also fell far short of Wall Street's expectations. [ID:nN10245398]
Late in the session, Cisco shares were trading up 1.1 percent to $19.62. (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)