Alcatel-Lucent 2010 net loss dips to 334 mn euros

Buoyed by strong profits in the fourth quarter of 2010, telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent today said it reduced losses in 2010 to 334 million euros (about Rs 2,080 crore) from 524 million euros (about Rs 3264 crore) in 2009.

The Franco-American company has registered a more than seven-fold growth in its net income for the fourth quarter (October-December) at 340 million euros as against 46 million euros in the same period last fiscal.

"It's one of our best quarters. We have made great progress over the past two years, we have increased our customer relevance and improved operational excellence, which is highlighted by the outstanding revenue growth in this quarter," Alcatel-Lucent CEO Ben Verwaayen told PTI.

Revenues grew 22.6% during Q4 FY10 to 4.86 billion euros from 3.96 billion in the same quarter of 2009.

Alcatel-Lucent said the net income of 340 million euros includes a "one-time gain of 105 million euros pre-tax and of 78 million euros after tax related to the disposal of our 2Wire investment and Adixen business".

For the full year, revenues increased 5.5% to 15.99 billion euros from 15.15 billion euros in 2009.

"As we enter into 2011, I am more confident than ever in our ability to transform into a normal company," Verwaayen said.

Talking about the Indian market, Verwaayen said the company was seeing good business growth in the country.

"Huge monthly subscriber addition, faster smartphone adoption and increasing rural penetration will help us grow the business further in this country," he said.

Alcatel-Lucent has been struggling to find its way back to profitability after its formation in 2006 with the merger of the French group Alcatel and US-based Lucent Technologies.

It has also been facing stiff competition from rivals such as Sweden's Ericsson and China's Huawei.

The company has 77,000 employees globally, of which about 15,000 are in India.

North America contributed 1.66 billion euros to the quarter's revenues, while Europe and Asia Pacific contributed 1.5 billion euros and 0.8 billion euros, respectively.

The company's free cash flow position also improved to 319 million euros for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 from a negative 273 million euros in Q3 FY10 and 173 million euros in Q4 FY09.

Networks business saw strong year-over-year increase in revenue, while IP revenues topped the 500 million euros-mark. Wireless business also saw accelerated growth this quarter.