Lucent Tells Analysts It's Comfortable With 1998 EPS Estimates
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Bloomberg News
September 17, 1998, 8:47 a.m. PT
Lucent Tells Analysts It's Comfortable With 1998 EPS Estimates
Murray Hill, New Jersey, Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Lucent
Technologies Inc., the top seller of phone equipment in North
America, told analysts it's comfortable with fiscal 1998 earnings
estimates.
Lucent, which is holding an all-day meeting with analysts,
is expected to earn $1.70 a share for the year ending September
30, the average estimate of analysts polled by First Call Corp.
For fiscal 1997, Lucent had a profit before charges of $1.51
billion, or $1.17 a share, adjusted for a two-for-one stock
split.
Lucent has beaten profit estimates every quarter since its
spinoff from AT&T Corp. in 1996, primarily by boosting sales at a
fast clip and keeping a lid on costs. Lucent's profit is rising
as customers in the U.S. and overseas order more switches and
software to handle mushrooming Internet traffic.
''They're extremely bullish,'' said Albert Lin, industry
analyst at The Abernathy Group who is attending the meeting.
''They implied growth rates for the next three years out will be
improved versus what they said last year.''
Murray Hill, New Jersey-based Lucent said its outlook
includes the negative impact some companies are seeing from Asia,
Russia and Latin America.
--Colleen McElroy in the Princeton newsroom (609) 279-4069/esk
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