Nortel reports narrowed losses

Nortel yesterday reported narrowed Q1 losses of $841m, compared to $2.58bn a year ago, on declining sales of $2.91bn, a little over half the $5.75bn it recorded in Q1 2001.

Revenues fell for the fifth quarter in a row, forcing Nortel to announce it would shed 3,000 more jobs as part of its ongoing restructuring. The latest cuts will drop its workforce to around 44,000, less than half the 94,500 the telecoms manufacturer employed in January 2000.

The cuts are designed to reduce Nortel's outgoings so it can reach breakeven on sales of $3.5 billion by Q4.

Frank Dunn, president and chief executive officer of Nortel, said it didn't expect significant changes in its revenues next quarter.

Capital expenditure by Nortel's telco customers continues to be limited so Nortel will "focus on building momentum in the market, and gain efficiencies across our business processes", he added.

Compared to Q4 2001, overall Wireless Networks revenues for Nortel decreased 6 per cent in Q1 2002, with a considerable increase in Canada and a slight increase in Europe, which was more than offset by a decrease in the United States and significant declines in Latin America and Asia. Metro and Enterprise Networks revenues decreased 23 percent for the quarter but Optical Long-Haul Networks revenues increased 5 percent, making it one of the few bright spots for the company. ®

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