Wall Street punishes Alcatel-Lucent for continued losses

Alcatel-Lucent reported $5.93 billion in revenues for the second quarter of 2007, marking a 4% decline from the year-ago quarter. The company’s stock slid more than 11% on news that it reported a net loss of almost $803 million.
“2007 is clearly a transition year for the company as we continue to execute on our integration plans in a rapidly changing industry,” CEO Patricia Russo said in a statement. “We anticipate sequential revenue growth as the year progresses, which implies a strong ramp-up in the second half of 2007.”
The recently combined French and American telecom equipment maker cut 1,900 jobs during the quarter and is continuing with a plan to eliminate 12,500 jobs over three years.
This marks the second straight quarterly loss for the company, which cited costs related to last year’s $10.7 billion deal to merge Alcatel and Lucent, and an “unfavorable product and geographic mix.”
Russo added, “We believe the gross margin level this quarter is not indicative of the business going forward.”