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Technology Stocks : Lucent Technologies (LU) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ted Downs who wrote (10724)	10/26/1999 3:02:00 PM
From: William Hunt	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 21876

Thread ---No Y2K issues ---Lucent Technologies Inc. Dow Jones Newswires -- October 26, 1999 DJ Lucent CEO Sees 1Q, 2000 EPS, Rev Forecasts Intact By Shawn Young NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Lucent Technologies Inc. (LU) expects the revenue and earnings trends that helped it exceed fourth fiscal quarter financial targets to continue into the first quarter and beyond, the chief executive and chief financial officers said. "We're looking for a rerun," Chief Financial Officer Don Peterson told Dow Jones Newswires. "We are not trying to change anybody's view about the first quarter or the year." The First Call/Thomson Financial consensus estimate is that the Murray Hill, N.J., telecommunications equipment maker will earn 55 cents a diluted share from continuing operations in the first fiscal quarter and $1.51 in fiscal 2000, ending September. Meeting or exceeding those expectations would involve Lucent continuing to gain market share and grow faster than the rest of the industry. The company is on track to keep doing that and expects to continue the improvements it made to inventory levels and outstanding bills in the third and fourth quarters, Chairman and Chief Executive Richard McGinn said in an interview after the release of fourth-quarter earnings. Along with earnings, the company announced that it is reorganizing itself. There had been rumors that Lucent would announce large-scale layoffs along with the new structure, but those were unfounded. "I was disappointed with the rumoring going on. It hurts our employees," McGinn said. "There is no large-scale layoff plan." Ongoing tinkering to make the company more efficient could result in scattered layoffs for a few hundred employees, McGinn said, but the company has added 30,000 people in the past year and is still recruiting. A company spokesman said the 30,000 figure includes employees who joined as a result of acquisitions. Lucent has 153,000 employees. As the company redraws itself into four major divisions, Chief Operating Officer Dan Stanzione is relinquishing that role along with the job of president of Bell Labs, Lucent's research arm. Arun Netravali, executive vice president for research, will become president of Bell Labs. Stanzione will become a special adviser to McGinn and will concentrate on shaping the company's product strategy and spotting technological trends. The change comes at Stanzione's request and does not indicate that he plans to leave, said McGinn, who will assume some of Stanzione's duties as chief operating officer. "I am interjecting myself into this area," McGinn said. Lucent redrew itself into four core units: networks for communications companies; networks for large businesses and government; chips and communications technologies; and consulting. The reorganization could help Lucent move faster and meet its customers' needs more efficiently, analysts said. As reported, Lucent's operating profit, which excludes one-time items, rose 50% to $972 million, or 31 cents a share, from $647 million, or 21 cents, a year ago. The prevailing Wall Street estimate was that the company would earn 29 cents. Revenue exceeded analysts' forecasts, growing 23% to $10.56 billion, compared with $8.57 billion a year ago. Lucent's core unit, which provides network equipment to phone companies, posted revenue growth of 32%. BEST WISHES BILL