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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: StanX Long who wrote (59848)	2/1/2002 2:36:08 AM
From: StanX Long	Respond to of 70976

Alcatel Ends Tough Year in Big Loss By JOHN TAGLIABUE nytimes.com PARIS, Jan. 31 — Alcatel (news/quote), the French maker of telecommunications equipment, reported a net loss of 4.96 billion euros, or $4.2 billion, for all of last year, the largest loss ever reported by a French corporation. And though it voiced optimism for 2002, it said the year would remain difficult. Alcatel is following in the footsteps of big rivals, like Ericsson (news/quote) of Sweden, which this week reported its first unprofitable year in half a century. The companies have been hurt by the inability of the telecommunications industry, mired in debt, to move ahead with the extension of new networks to provide continuous service via the Internet. Alcatel had cautioned that its loss for last year would be as large as 5 billion euros, much of which resulted from a one-time charge of 3.86 billion euros to reorganize money-losing divisions. Investors, apparently impressed by the company's strides toward restoring profitability, its improved outlook for 2002 and its ambitious debt-reduction program, sent the share price up more than 4 percent at one point. Alcatel closed up 2.3 percent, at 17.60 euros. Analysts at several brokerage firms expressed satisfaction with Alcatel's progress and positive outlook. Société Générale, for instance, lifted its recommendation for Alcatel to buy from hold, with a price target of 22 euros. To reduce debt, Alcatel began a drive to sell assets, including shares in major French corporations like the electronics group Thales (news/quote), Thompson Multimedia, which makes RCA television sets, and the power company Alstom (news/quote). Sales of shares in those companies earned Alcatel 900 million euros last year.