Profit Falls at Alcatel
Reuters Reuters Friday, April 27, 2001
iht.com
PARIS The French telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel SA posted on Thursday a 19 percent drop in first-quarter net profit, scaled back its 2001 outlook and said it would outsource mobile phone production.
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The company also said it had made an initial offer for the fiber-optics division of Lucent Technologies Inc., which analysts estimate could be worth $4 billion to $8 billion.
.
Alcatel's net income fell to E210 million ($188.2 million) from E258 million a year earlier. But sales rose 21 percent to E7.4 billion, beating forecasts, and first-quarter operating profit gained 4 percent E118 million.
.
The company once again revised downward its forecast for telecommunications sales. Alcatel now expects growth this year of between 5 percent and 15 percent, compared with its previous forecast of 20 percent. Alcatel shares rose E1.36 to E33.63, apparently because cuts in its full-year outlook were not deeper.
.
"The mobile-handset market is in crisis in Europe," said Jean-Pierre Halbron, the Alcatel chief financial officer. "This has cost us something like E150 million in the first quarter of 2001."
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Alcatel plans to outsource its European mobile phone production to the Singapore-based electronics contract manufacturer Flextronics International Inc. Ericsson made a similar move this year.
.
"The Flextronics partnership is a win-win deal that means Alcatel can focus on its core business which is the conception of new products and selling and marketing them," said Olivier Houssin, head of Alcatel's mobile-phone division.
.
"The unfavorable U.S. economic context is continuing," Serge Tchuruk, Alcatel's chief executive, said. "In Europe, even while demand for broadband access and carrier networking should remain robust, we are beginning to see some localized pockets of slowing growth."
.
Mr. Tchuruk said Alcatel was open to an alliance in the mobile phone business. He said he was confident about the rollout of third-generation mobile phone technology, despite the fact that NTT Docomo Inc. is pushing back the commercial introduction of the faster wireless services.
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< < Back to Start of Article PARIS The French telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel SA posted on Thursday a 19 percent drop in first-quarter net profit, scaled back its 2001 outlook and said it would outsource mobile phone production.
.
The company also said it had made an initial offer for the fiber-optics division of Lucent Technologies Inc., which analysts estimate could be worth $4 billion to $8 billion.
.
Alcatel's net income fell to E210 million ($188.2 million) from E258 million a year earlier. But sales rose 21 percent to E7.4 billion, beating forecasts, and first-quarter operating profit gained 4 percent E118 million.
.
The company once again revised downward its forecast for telecommunications sales. Alcatel now expects growth this year of between 5 percent and 15 percent, compared with its previous forecast of 20 percent. Alcatel shares rose E1.36 to E33.63, apparently because cuts in its full-year outlook were not deeper.
.
"The mobile-handset market is in crisis in Europe," said Jean-Pierre Halbron, the Alcatel chief financial officer. "This has cost us something like E150 million in the first quarter of 2001."
.
Alcatel plans to outsource its European mobile phone production to the Singapore-based electronics contract manufacturer Flextronics International Inc. Ericsson made a similar move this year.
.
"The Flextronics partnership is a win-win deal that means Alcatel can focus on its core business which is the conception of new products and selling and marketing them," said Olivier Houssin, head of Alcatel's mobile-phone division.
.
"The unfavorable U.S. economic context is continuing," Serge Tchuruk, Alcatel's chief executive, said. "In Europe, even while demand for broadband access and carrier networking should remain robust, we are beginning to see some localized pockets of slowing growth."
.
Mr. Tchuruk said Alcatel was open to an alliance in the mobile phone business. He said he was confident about the rollout of third-generation mobile phone technology, despite the fact that NTT Docomo Inc. is pushing back the commercial introduction of the faster wireless services. PARIS The French telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel SA posted on Thursday a 19 percent drop in first-quarter net profit, scaled back its 2001 outlook and said it would outsource mobile phone production.
.
The company also said it had made an initial offer for the fiber-optics division of Lucent Technologies Inc., which analysts estimate could be worth $4 billion to $8 billion.
.
Alcatel's net income fell to E210 million ($188.2 million) from E258 million a year earlier. But sales rose 21 percent to E7.4 billion, beating forecasts, and first-quarter operating profit gained 4 percent E118 million.
.
The company once again revised downward its forecast for telecommunications sales. Alcatel now expects growth this year of between 5 percent and 15 percent, compared with its previous forecast of 20 percent. Alcatel shares rose E1.36 to E33.63, apparently because cuts in its full-year outlook were not deeper.
.
"The mobile-handset market is in crisis in Europe," said Jean-Pierre Halbron, the Alcatel chief financial officer. "This has cost us something like E150 million in the first quarter of 2001."
.
Alcatel plans to outsource its European mobile phone production to the Singapore-based electronics contract manufacturer Flextronics International Inc. Ericsson made a similar move this year.
.
"The Flextronics partnership is a win-win deal that means Alcatel can focus on its core business which is the conception of new products and selling and marketing them," said Olivier Houssin, head of Alcatel's mobile-phone division.
.
"The unfavorable U.S. economic context is continuing," Serge Tchuruk, Alcatel's chief executive, said. "In Europe, even while demand for broadband access and carrier networking should remain robust, we are beginning to see some localized pockets of slowing growth."
.
Mr. Tchuruk said Alcatel was open to an alliance in the mobile phone business. He said he was confident about the rollout of third-generation mobile phone technology, despite the fact that NTT Docomo Inc. is pushing back the commercial introduction of the faster wireless services. PARIS The French telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel SA posted on Thursday a 19 percent drop in first-quarter net profit, scaled back its 2001 outlook and said it would outsource mobile phone production.
.
The company also said it had made an initial offer for the fiber-optics division of Lucent Technologies Inc., which analysts estimate could be worth $4 billion to $8 billion.
.
Alcatel's net income fell to E210 million ($188.2 million) from E258 million a year earlier. But sales rose 21 percent to E7.4 billion, beating forecasts, and first-quarter operating profit gained 4 percent E118 million.
.
The company once again revised downward its forecast for telecommunications sales. Alcatel now expects growth this year of between 5 percent and 15 percent, compared with its previous forecast of 20 percent. Alcatel shares rose E1.36 to E33.63, apparently because cuts in its full-year outlook were not deeper.
.
"The mobile-handset market is in crisis in Europe," said Jean-Pierre Halbron, the Alcatel chief financial officer. "This has cost us something like E150 million in the first quarter of 2001."
.
Alcatel plans to outsource its European mobile phone production to the Singapore-based electronics contract manufacturer Flextronics International Inc. Ericsson made a similar move this year.
.
"The Flextronics partnership is a win-win deal that means Alcatel can focus on its core business which is the conception of new products and selling and marketing them," said Olivier Houssin, head of Alcatel's mobile-phone division.
.
"The unfavorable U.S. economic context is continuing," Serge Tchuruk, Alcatel's chief executive, said. "In Europe, even while demand for broadband access and carrier networking should remain robust, we are beginning to see some localized pockets of slowing growth." |
