Marconi announced financial results for the three months and twelve months ended 31 March 2003. The company said "very tough market conditions" continue but that its financial condition is improving in spite of lower sales volume. Some key points include:
- the company has emerged from bankruptcy protection and the new listing of Marconi Corporation plc is trading on the London market
- gross external debt has been reduced to £808m (pro forma) from £3.9bn
- sales for the quarter ending 31-Mar-03 were £426 million
- gross margins for the quarter were 24.4%, compared with 17% for the first quarter of the company's fiscal year
- for the full fiscal year, Marconi's ten largest customers - BT, BellSouth, Metro City Carriers, Qwest, Telecom Italia, UK Government, US Government, Vodafone Group, Verizon and Wind. These ten customers accounted for 48% of sales
- the company has reduced its annualized, break-even operational cost run-rate to £490 million in revenue per quarter, approximately 45% down from the £890 million run-rate at 31-March-2002. Savings were driven mainly by headcount reductions and site closures and consolidation
- as of 31-Mar-03, the company employed approximately 15,300 people in its core business, a reduction of over 19,000 employees since 31-March-2001. Marconi plans further cuts, resulting ine a workforce of about 13,500 employees
As for its market outlook, Marconi expects a further contraction in market volumes and group sales during the current financial year as telecom operators continue to maintain tight controls over capital expenditures.
http://www.marconi.com
