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

To: Wigglesworth who wrote (4769)	10/22/1998 2:19:00 PM
From: Wigglesworth	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 21876

Lucent is going DOWN THE TUBES!!! Company's complete reversal of previous statement: now says COMFORTABLE instead of NOT UNCOMFORTABLE!!! Lucent CFO 'Comfortable' With Fiscal '99 EPS Views Dow Jones Newswires By Shawn Young NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Donald K. Peterson, chief financial officer of Lucent Technologies Inc. (LU) is comfortable with analysts' earnings estimates for fiscal 1999. "We don't really see any trailoff in demand," he told Dow Jones in an interview following the Murray Hill, N.J., telecommunications equipment maker's fiscal fourth quarter earnings release. Earnings exceeded expectations and provided a clear indication that Lucent is prospering at the expense of some competitors, who have warned of declining demand, analysts said. Peterson said he thinks the profit and revenue gains the company reported Thursday reflect a sustainable growth rate. Analysts surveyed by First Call Inc. expect the company to report fiscal 1999 earnings from continuing operations of $2.04 a share. Even if orders were to fall off industry-wide, Lucent would continue to grow because it is gaining market share, Peterson said. "There's this enormous market-share opportunity," he said. "I expect our company to continue to perform like this." He said the company estimates it has only 8% of the worldwide market for telecommunicaitons equipment and a mere 3% of the overseas market, leaving a huge opportunity for expansion. Some investors have been concerned that the Baby Bells and other entrenched U.S. local carriers will curtail spending and thus possibly damage Lucent's growth. The company simply doesn't see it. The Bells face increasingly sophisticated customers and an increasingly competitive market, Peterson said. "I don't see either of these growth trends abating," he said. He said he expects the Bells' spending to be at least as heavy as last year. Lucent won't guarantee the kind of outstanding margins it achieved in the fourth quarter, but it doesn't expect any dramatic changes, either, Peterson said. Margins will remain within the range of 43% or better that the company wants, he said, but there could be variation within that range if competition affects prices. Meanwhile, he said, the company continues to troll for attractive acquisitions. He said Lucent is currently talking with six or eight companies in various sectors of the industry. The talks could lead to acquisitions or partnerships. He declined to identify the companies. Lucent is pleased with the performance of the acquisitions it has made so far and it is getting more skillful at integrating acquisitions, Peterson said. He said the company agrees with forecasts that the semiconductor industry will rally next year, and Lucent expects its own semiconductor growth to exceed the industry rate. The exact timing of the expected revival is difficult to predict, he said. In the quarter ended Sept. 30, Lucent's sales grew 16% to $8.04 billion from $6.93 billion a year ago. Net income was $388 million, or 29 cents a diluted share, compared to a loss of $597 million, or 47 cents a year ago. Figures for both periods include charges related to acquisitions. Excluding the charges, Lucent's net income rose to $548 million, or 41 cents, from $369 million, or 28 cents, a year ago. The First Call Corp. consensus estimate was 39 cents. -By Shawn Young; 201-938-5248 shawn.young@cor.dowjones.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------