Alcatel Posts Loss and Halts Dividend
70358
The telecommunications giant finished its first full year as a merged company with a net loss of 3.52 billion euros, or $5.1 billion, mostly on charges, and it predicted a loss for the current quarter.
30900
(InfoWorld) - Alcatel-Lucent's revenue fell for the fourth quarter and the company plunged into loss. The performance was disappointing, but theÂ long-term prospects of the mergerÂ of Alcatel and Lucent Technologies remain positive, the company said. Fourth-quarter revenue dropped 16 percent year-on-year on a comparable basis, to â¬4.42 billion ($5.83 billion as of Dec. 31, the last day of the period reported) from â¬5.25 billion, while revenue for the full year fell to â¬18.25 billion from â¬18.57 billion. Although the merger was onlyÂ completed at the end of November, the company provided pro-forma figures as if the merger had taken place on Jan. 1, and restated earlier figures on a comparable basis. On that basis, the company made a net loss of â¬618 million in the fourth quarter, compared to a net profit of â¬381 million a year earlier. For the full year, net profit fell to â¬522 million, down from â¬1.67 billion on a comparable basis the previous year. The disappointing performance was due to uncertainty among customers and staff about the outcome of the merger, and to a highly competitive market in North America during the fourth quarter, the company said. As it proceeds with the integration of Alcatel and Lucent, the company expects to realize cost savings of â¬600 million this year, and a total of â¬1.7 billion in cost savings within three years of the merger. The savings will come from optimization of its supply chain, and the elimination of duplicate resources and products, and around 12,500 jobs. Post-merger, the company makes around three-quarters of its revenue from carrier products. Revenue of â¬1.47 billion came from fixed-line telecommunications equipment in the fourth quarter, â¬1.24 billion from wireless equipment, and â¬510 million from converged products. Enterprise networking equipment accounted for â¬410 million, and services for â¬740 million. Demand was particularly strong for enterprise IP telephony equipment in Europe, the company said.
174380
Lucent Technologies has averted a potentially embarrassing delay of its shareholder vote on a merger with Alcatel,Â settling two suits by shareholdersÂ who said the deal doesn't maximize shareholder value.
350332
NOKIA&#39;S SALES SLIDE has been halted according to figures released by the Gartner Group. The analysts predict Nokia&#39;s share of the global market crept back to almost 30 per cent.
102786
French telecommunications equipment provider Alcatel has received an order worth 270 million euros (460 million Australian dollars, 347 million US dollars) from Australian telecom giant Telstra, the two companies have revealed.
667449
Company's handset business is in trouble, as it reports heavy losses on slow sales, sending its stock down more than 22 percent in midday trading.
425704
Motorola Inc  said on Wednesday it will post an operating loss in the current quarter as its cell phone business is taking longer than expected to turn around, dashing Wall Street hopes for a profit and sending its shares down 20 percent.
298840
(InfoWorld) - Shareholders of Alcatel SA and Lucent Technologies Inc. approved the companies' merger plansÂ Thursday, clearing one of the last hurdles to a mammoth consolidation in the communications equipment business. The merger scraped by at Lucent's special shareholder meeting Thursday in Wilmington, Delaware. It required 50 percent of the vote and received 51.97 percent, according to spokesman John Skalko. Alcatel, meeting in Paris, required a two-thirds vote of shareholders. All resolutions related to the merger were approved by at least 85 percent of the Alcatel shareholders who voted, said Alcatel spokesman Charlie Guyer. The two networking and telecommunications equipment manufacturers announced their intention to merge in April. The combined entity will have annual revenue of around â¬21 billion (US$25 billion), based on the companies' 2005 financial results. Lucent Chief Executive Officer Patricia Russo will become CEO of the combined company, which is to be called Alcatel Lucent, while Alcatel CEO Serge Tchuruk will become a non-executive chairman. Lucent, based in Murray Hill, New Jersey, is incorporated in Delaware. The merged company will be based in Paris, Alcatel's hometown. Alcatel and Lucent expect that the merged entity will make annual cost savings of about â¬1.4 billion, around half of that from job cuts. They plan to cut 9,000 from their combined payroll of 88,000. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission approved the deal in June, and the European Commission gave its consent in July. The largest remaining obstacle is convincing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. that the deal presents no threat to national security. To allay such fears, Lucent will set up a separate subsidiary run by U.S. citizens to handle sensitive research and development work for the U.S. government, while in France, Alcatel agreed to sell its satellite business to French aerospace electronics group Thales SA for similar reasons. The proposed deal has run into opposition from some investment companies and shareholders. Lucent announced on Friday it had settled two shareholder lawsuits that could have delayed Thursday's vote. Shares of both companies have fallen from their April levels, though they have made some gains in the past few weeks.
705815
The phone company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $11.1 million as it scaled back on marketing and cut other costs.
631206
Motorola Inc.  on Thursday posted a quarterly loss as revenue fell amid weak phone sales, as it loses market share.
649595
Vodafone, the world&#39;s largest mobile phone company, today gave shareholders an early Christmas present by doubling its half-year dividend to 1.91p and extending a share buy-back programme.
483835
London equities ended their three-day losing streak on Thursday as Vodafone shares led the charge and investors awaited the Bank of England&#39;s interest rate decision.
713879
Alcatel-Lucent cut its revenue forecast for the year on Thursday, underscoring the challenges the newly merged company faces in a highly competitive communications equipment industry.
660560
Motorola's mobile-phone business recorded a $138 million loss in the third quarter, with handset revenues declining by 36 percent to $4.5 billion in comparison with the year-earlier period. Nevertheless, Motorola executives remain upbeat about the ailing unit's prospects for returning to profitability, noting that substantial progress has been made during the quarter.
629754
Alcatel  on Monday  released preliminary second-quarter results that were in line  with company expectations.
333919
Motorola Inc  said on Wednesday it will post an operating loss in the current quarter as recovery in its cell phone business is taking longer than expected, dashing Wall Street expectations for a profit and sending its shares down as much as 14 percent.
26330
Newly-merged telecoms firm Alcatel-Lucent is to cut 12,500 jobs in three years as profits are halved.