Tuesday, January 21, 2003

Lucent Reports $2 Billion in Q4 Revenue, Comments on Cisco Deal, Upcoming UNE Decision

Lucent reported quarterly revenues of $2.08 billion, a 9% sequential decline from the prior quarter and down from $3.58 billion in revenues in the year-ago quarter. The figure was in-line with previous guidance. The net loss for the quarter was $264 million or $0.11 per share. While not forecasting an improvement in the overall market, Lucent continues to expect an increase in its revenues to about $2.5 billion in the current quarter. The company has announced 20 new contracts over the past 3 months representing close to $1.5 billion in revenues.
http://www.lucent.com

  • A webcast of Lucent's quarterly investor conference call is online. http://www.lucent.com/investor/conference/webcast


  • The results represent Lucent's 11th consecutive quarterly loss.


  • Lucent is planning for about a 20% year-over-year revenue decline for 2003, although it is targeting sequential improvements in its bottom line and a return to profitability by the end of fiscal 2003. The company anticipates having over $2 billion in cash at the end of fiscal 2003.


  • Lucent expects to end fiscal 2003 with 35,000 employees.


  • Regarding the recent decision to resell Cisco's equipment to mobile service providers, company CEO Patricia Russo said Lucent is not moving away from the data networking market. She said the partnership with Cisco was driven by the need to provide “a total integrated solution�? to its customers as they evolve their networks for packet services. She said Lucent continues to invest in developing new data networking equipment, notably an MPLS upgrade for its ATM switches. Russo also noted that Lucent is looking for an equipment partner for the IP core and remains “absolutely committed�? to the multiservice edge.


  • Regarding an upcoming decision from the FCC on Unbundled Network Elements (UNEs), Russo said regulatory clarity would enable major service providers to better plan their capital expenditures. She said comments from Lucent's major service provider customers indicate that a “favorable�? FCC decision would lead them to increase their spending plans. However, Russo said Lucent had not factored the FCC's upcoming decision into its financial planning.