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To: ms.smartest.person who wrote (1964)	10/4/2001 9:48:49 PM
From: ms.smartest.person	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2248

Avaya says 2001 Asian sales grew 25 pct 10/3/2001 10:56:00 PM 10-03 0580 CORRECTED - CORRECTED-Avaya (AV) says 2001 Asian sales grew 25 pct In SINGAPORE story "INTERVIEW-Avaya (AV) says 2001 Asian sales grew 25 pct", please read in paragraph five...spun off in 2000...instead of...spun off in 2001. (Corrects year) A corrected story follows. By Jennifer Tan SINGAPORE, Oct 2 (Reuters) - U.S. communications equipment maker Avaya Inc said on Tuesday its Asia-Pacific revenues rose 25 percent for the year to September 30 and it expects regional sales to grow in "low double-digits" this year. "In the first six months of (fiscal 2001), the markets were still doing extremely well," Asia-Pacific president Mark Leigh told Reuters in an interview. "But in the latter six months, most of the growth was market-share driven rather than pure market growth, so the second half was slower." Despite slowing regional economies, demand for Avaya's voice and data solutions remained robust as firms sought to upgrade and replace equipment rather than invest in new networks, he said. The company, spun off in 2000 from Lucent Technologies (LU) , reported in July that earnings from ongoing operations for the third quarter ended June 30 rose to $67 million, more than double the $32 million earned in the year-ago quarter. A MOVING TARGET Leigh said Avaya enjoyed significant growth in China, South Korea, Japan and India in fiscal 2001. "We're planning on low double-digit growth for Asia Pacific in FY2002 and growth will come mainly from these four markets," he said. But this projection was a moving target due to the uncertain outlook following the attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, Leigh warned. "Our current target has not really taken into account the situation of the last two weeks, so we have to factor in that, together with what happens over the coming few weeks," he said. "Our projections could change dramatically." The U.S. attacks has spurred companies in the region into taking a prudent stance towards investments, Leigh said. Freight and shipments into Asia have also experienced delays due to increased security measures, he added. Avaya's key customers include Singapore Airlines (SIAL) , Singapore Telecommunications (TELE) , Hong Kong's dominant telecoms carrier Pacific Century Cyberworks (0008) , Citibank (C) and International Business Machines Corp (IBM) . In a bid to grow its global brand name, the company will sponsor the soccer World Cup games co-hosted by Japan and South Korea in 2002. Currently, Asia-Pacific sales account for a "single-digit" percentage of group sales, Leigh said. "We're still seeing the strongest growth from Asia," he added. BATTENING DOWN THE HATCHES Avaya, which secured its Business Headquarters award from Singapore's Economic Development Board on Tuesday, will invest more than S$49 million ($27) in the city state a year from now to September 2003 to boost its services networks. This is part of its US$80 million investment in Asia to upgrade infrastructure and research and development capabilities, Leigh said. Avaya said in July it has accelerated its restructuring -- including cutting 5,000 jobs, or almost 18 percent of its total work force -- since early June. That was 2,000 more than planned. Avaya shares closed at $9.95 on Monday in New York. ($1=1.777 Singapore Dollar) REUTERS Rtr 22:56 10-03-01 Copyright 2001, Reuters News Service www2.marketwatch.com;