Alcatel-Lucent Shares Jump After Q3 Results

Alcatel-Lucent SA

posted a narrower loss in the third quarter. The Paris, France-based company reported a quarterly net loss of EUR18 million ($23 million), or 1 cent per share, versus a year-ago net loss of EUR200 million, or 9 cents per share. Its adjusted operating income came in at EUR170 million, versus analysts' estimates of EUR138 million. Its revenue slipped 5.9% to EUR3.25 billion from EUR3.67 billion. Revenue at the Internet-routing division gained 2.2%. Access segment revenue fell 7.5% to EUR1,807 million, while core networking segment revenue fell 3.9% to EUR1,443 million. Sales in Asia-Pacific region rose 23% to 721 million euros, while sales in North America declined 14% to 1.36 billion euros. Free cash flow came in at EUR81 million in the quarter, versus EUR218 million, in the year-ago period. Michel Combes, CEO of Alcatel-Lucent, said: “Since the launch of The Shift Plan, our primary objective is to enable the company to generate free cash flow on a sustainable, recurring basis, starting in 2015. Our third quarter results show that we are increasingly improving our underlying profitability, an important step towards this commitment. In parallel, we have opened the second chapter of The Shift Plan, sharpening our focus on applying innovation to unlock growth in order to address our strategic ambitions within and outside of the telecoms sector.” Alcatel-Lucent shares climbed 9.38% to $2.80 in pre-market trading.