More Bad News From Lucent
By Paula Bernier
Posted on: 10/24/2002
Lucent Technologies yesterday reported that for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2002, the company recorded pro forma revenues of $2.28 billion, which represented a 23 percent sequential decline from the $2.95 billion in revenues achieved in the third fiscal quarter of 2002 and was consistent with its previous guidance. The company recorded $4.75 billion in pro forma revenues in the year-ago quarter.
The company's pro forma loss per share from continuing operations was 64 cents. The loss includes charges of about 38 cents per share associated primarily with a significant customer financing default as well as inventory and certain other asset impairment charges that were taken in light of revised market forecasts. In the third fiscal quarter, the company had posted a pro forma loss of $1.88 per share from continuing operations, which included the impact of a non-cash charge of $1.72 per share to increase the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets. The company recorded a pro forma loss of 28 cents in the year-ago quarter.
"Our top priority is returning Lucent to profitability by the end of fiscal year 2003, while helping our customers address the critical networking and business issues they are facing today," said Lucent CEO Patricia Russo. "We are taking actions that will reduce our cost and expense structure to achieve quarterly breakeven revenue at $2.5 billion by the end of fiscal 2003, and we are working to reduce it further. At the same time, we are maintaining an industry-leading portfolio that will enable us to emerge as a more focused business when the market returns."
As an aside, The New York Times ran an article early this month reporting that FCC Chairman Michael Powell is urging telecommunications companies to spend more on new equipment to insure the survival of big suppliers like Lucent, Nortel and Cisco. The carriers’ own recovery, he reportedly said, depended on the ability of those and smaller equipment makers to remain solvent enough to continue developing new technology. |
