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Alcatel-Lucent loss wider than forecast

By Reuters
Boston, 31 Jul 2007

Alcatel-Lucent produced a steeper-than-forecast net loss in the second quarter on the back of lower sales and merger-related disruptions and costs.

The Franco-American telecommunications equipment provider on Tuesday reported a net loss of 336 million euros ($459.3 million) for the three months to 30 June against a profit of 302 million euros the previous year and compared with expectations of a 147.1 million loss, based on a Reuters poll of 10 analysts.

The company, which also confirmed its full-year sales growth expectations, added the outcome included a negative impact of 176 million euros, which included a mix of exceptional gains and charges.

The company said the net loss included an impairment charge of 298 million euros related to a re-evaluation of its W-CDMA mobile assets which analysts did not expect.

Alcatel of France and Lucent of the US started operating as a combined business on 1 December last year.

The group confirmed it expected to generate 600 million euros in pre-tax savings thanks to the merger and said it had reduced headcount by 3 800 people in the year to date, or 30% of its three-year target of 12 500.

Alcatel-Lucent generated a second-quarter adjusted operating loss of 19 million euros, which compared with expectations of a profit of 67.8 million euros based on a Reuters poll.

Sales in the second quarter fell to 4.326 billion euros from 4.491 billion euros in the second quarter last year.

The pair has been working on rebuilding relations with customers in the past few months, which had suffered from uncertainty surrounding future technology and product choices.

In April, Alcatel-Lucent warned of a steeper-than-forecast drop in first-quarter sales mainly due to the merger.

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