from cbs.marketwatch:
cbs.marketwatch.com
The times they are a-changing at Newbridge
Times may have been tough for Newbridge Networks of late, but moves
are afoot to turn the company's fortunes around, according to Chris
Haddock, the Canadian group's European-based director of media
relations.
"We've had a number of quarters when earnings were below analysts'
expectations," Haddock said. However, this month, Newbridge's chief
operating officer, Alan Lutz, was replaced by Pearce Flynn, formerly head
of the group's European, Middle East and East Asian (EMEEA)
operations.
"Prior to him (Flynn) joining our EMEEA division had 8 percent (annual)
revenue growth; now it's got 40 percent growth," Haddock said. "He's
very pragmatic and thinks very logically, which is what's needed in the
company as a whole."
In recent times, Newbridge (NN: news, msgs) has been touted as a
takeover target of the likes of Ericsson (ERICY: news, msgs), the
Swedish telecom giant. Haddock said the Canadian company is "looking
at all strategic options."
Newbridge does roughly 42 percent of its overall business in Europe,
which is slightly less than the total amount of business it does in the United
States. Haddock said this isn't acceptable.
"We have performed disappointingly in the U.S., and this is something the
company has to address. You wouldn't expect European business to be
that big given the volume of the market," he said.
Within Europe, Newbridge has partnerships with the likes of France's
Alcatel SA (ALA: news, msgs), Germany's Siemens AG and Marconi
PLC of the U.K. The networking group's main competitors in Europe are
Nortel and Cisco, Haddock said.
"The majority of the main telcos in Europe, such as British Telecom (BTY:
news, msgs), Deutsche Telekom AG (DT: news, msgs) and France
Telecom SA (FTE: news, msgs), take Newbridge technology," he added. |
