Wednesday May 2 2001, 11h59
ALCATEL reassures the market / Analyse
In spite of the revision in fall of the prospects for growth of the company, the majority of the
professionals, reassured by the good results of the group over the first quarter of the year, thus
recommends to position on the value at the current level.
Seldom quarterly results will have been also awaited by the investors! Announced little before the
opening of the Stock Exchange last Thursday, the results of Alcatel, which did not contain any
nasty surprise, relieved the market and makes leap, as of the first transactions, the action of more
than 5 %. the French group of equipment of telecommunications however announced a net
income of 210 million euros for first quarter 2001, in fall of 18,6 % compared to the same period
of the preceding exercise. But the turnover and the operating profit respectively increased by 20,9
%, to 7,4 billion euros, and of 4,42 %, to 118 million euros, that is to say in the top of the fork of
the forecasts of the analysts. " We were agreeably surprised, because we awaited an amount of
the sales ranging between 7,2 and 7,4 billion euros and an operating profit between 110 and 120
million euros ", indicates one of them. More precisely, the optoelectronics activity, Alcatel
Optronics, announced a record result for first quarter 2001 of 18,4 million euros, against 10,3
million euros over the same period of the preceding exercise. And for the whole of the year, the
optical division of the group still envisages a rise of 50 % of its turnover, with an operating
margin of 20 %. On the other hand, in the t*©l*©coms, the deceleration of the market of the mobile
terminals will have cost him approximately 150 million euros first quarter 2001. " Vis-a-vis with
the weakness of the request, the operators t*©l*©coms were constrained to defer their investments
and to increase their stocks of mobile telephones ", explains David Perez, at Hull Trading, a
subsidiary company of Goldman Sachs in London.
Moreover, prospects 2001 were re-examined with the fall, without high degrees of accuracy. " If the lack of visibility in
industry of telecommunications did not make it possible the group to advance precise objectives on the whole of year 2001,
Alcatel however forms part of the rare companies which goes so far as to give a forecast of growth of the sales ranging between
5 and 15 % ", moderates Jean-Pierre G*©remy, at Wargny. In addition, management announced an acceleration of the
programme of reduction of its costs which should enable him to save 1 billion euros. A measurement which was greeted by the
majority of the analysts. " This reorganization, which in particular consists to gather the European production of mobile
telephones GSM on only one factory in Laval, and to give it turn-key to the American group Flextronics, seems to us
particularly positive ", underlines Alexandre Mouthon, analyst in load of the value at UBP, in Geneva. These reductions of
costs would be carried out essentially in second half of year 2001. Economies which are all the more necessary since Alcatel
would wish to offer the division of fibre-optic cables of Lucent, evaluated by the analysts between 5 and 6 billion dollars. The
more so as the American equipment supplier should not accept payment in actions, so much it has need for liquidit*©s*â (S.B)
The OPINION OF the PROFESSIONALS the professionals was satisfied of the results of Alcatel for the first quarter of year
2001. They estimate that the worst was avoided, the group not publishing worrying profit warning, and consider that it has the
assets necessary to better resist the deterioration of the economic situation than its European competitors. " Contrary at Nokia
(Paris: 5838.PA - topicality ), Ericsson (Paris: 12905.PA - topicality ) or Marconi, Alcatel remains the equipment supplier
diversified best in his wallet of products ", underlines Laurent Imbert, person in charge of management actions at Ofivalmo
Gestion. On its side, Patrick Laffargue, at Total (Paris: 7694.PA - topicality ) management, considers that the title did not
benefit as much from recent the rally of index CAC 40 than the majority of values TMT. Around 33 euros, it seems to him
trying to take the bet of a rebound of the medium-term title. " In the current plan, the risk of fall of the title is less significant
than its hope of rise ", estimates it. As for the broker Lehman Brothers, it is with the strong purchase on the value and lays
down an objective of euros*â course of 45
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