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Alcatel-Lucent Q2 Loss Narrows, Plans Submarine Unit's IPO; Stock Down(dpa-AFX International Compact Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent SA (ALU) reported Thursday a narrower net loss in its second quarter, reflecting margin strength and slightly higher revenues. The company further said it intends to explore Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks capital opening through IPO in first half 2015. The shares are currently trading around 6 percent lower in Paris. For the second quarter, net loss Group share was 298 million euros, compared to a pro forma loss of 885 million euros in the prior year. Loss per share was 0.11, compared to a pro forma loss of 0.37 per share. Loss per American Depository share or ADS was $0.15, compared to pro forma loss of $0.48 per ADS a year ago. The company noted that the 2013 figures are re-presented to reflect accounting of Enterprise as a discontinued operation. Adjusted net loss (Group share), which excluded certain items, was 290 million euros, compared to a loss of 872 million euros, a year ago. Adjusted loss per share was 0.10 euros, compared to a loss of 0.36 euros. Adjusted operating income reached 136 million euros in the quarter, 91 percent higher than last year's 45 million euros. Adjusted operating margin was 4.1 percent, compared to 1.3 percent in the prior year. Gross margin expanded by 140 basis points year-over-year to 32.6 percent essentially driven by cost savings. Revenues were 3.28 billion euros, a growth of 0.7 percent from last year's pro forma revenue of 3.44 billion euros. Group revenues, excluding Managed Services, was up 5 percent year-on-year, largely driven by a very strong quarter in wireless, notably with LTE roll-outs in China and US. Core Networking segment revenues declined 10 percent, while Access segment revenues grew 9.5 percent from last year. North American revenues dropped 2.6 percent, while encouraging trends continued in Europe growing 6 percent when excluding Managed services. Asia Pacific posted a solid 25.2 percent year-over-year growth, driven by LTE network roll-outs in China. In the rest of World, MEA declined at a mid single digit, while CALA remained challenging. Chief Executive Officer Michel Combes said, "The Group can now embark on the second chapter of its turnaround story: innovate, transform and grow while keeping intact the commitment of returning to positive free cash flow in 2015." Further, the company announced its intent to explore the capital opening of its unit Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks or ASN through an IPO. The company aims to finance the reinforcement of its leadership in telecom submarine systems and its diversification into the Oil & Gas market, to increase its visibility and to optimize capital allocation. Alcatel-Lucent will retain the majority of the ownership. Subject to market conditions, this capital opening is targeted to take place in the first half of 2015. In Paris, Alcatel-Lucent shares were losing 0.16 euros or 5.54 percent, and trading at 2.68 euros. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX |