Shares of Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) plunged almost 10 percent on Thursday after the telecom equipment maker reported yet another quarterly loss.
The Paris-based company’s earnings dropped to euro515 million ($665 million) from euro402 million in the year-ago quarter. That’s a 28 percent disparity. Revenue fell, too, by 9.8 percent to euro3.24 billion. Restructuring costs and higher taxes, combined with the lower sales, contributed to the poor numbers.
CEO Ben Verwaayen also said a “components shortage” slowed sales and he told reporters the problem is industry-wide. But he said he expects a recovery in the North American market this year, even though he did not change his expectations for the full year.
Since merging in 2006, Alcatel and Lucent have struggled to maintain profitability amid heavy competition and an ailing economy. Executives told investors not to look for profitability before 2011.
Alcatel-Lucent stock was trading at $2.73 by about 12:20 p.m. Eastern, down 9.6 percent.
