Lucent posts 9th straight qtly loss, cuts more jobs

MURRAY HILL: Telecommunications equipment maker Lucent Technologies Inc. has posted its ninth consecutive quarterly net loss and said it would have to cut another 7,000 jobs because the telecom spending slowdown has not relented. The Murray Hill, New Jersey-based company, which began a massive restructuring in January 2001, posted a third-quarter net loss of $7.91 billion, or $2.31 a diluted share, compared with a net loss of $3.24 billion, or 95 cents a diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.

Lucent said it would cut another 7,000 jobs plus eliminate additional 1,000 jobs through attrition, outsourcing and sales of businesses to reduce its work force by 15 percent by the end of the year. It had employed 53,000 at the end of June.

The cuts have resulted in an additional business restructuring charge of $808 million, which was recorded in the third fiscal quarter, the company said. Of the total charge, $335 million is expected to be cash, and is expected to result in about $700 million in annual savings. Lucent declined to provide any guidance for the fourth quarter, citing the market uncertainty, but repeated its goal to return to profitability in late fiscal 2003.

Its loss before one-time items was 16 cents a share compared with 39 cents last year. Including a $1.70 non-cash charge to increase the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets, it reported a per-share loss of $1.86. Revenue for the quarter ended June 30 slumped to $2.95 billion from $5.37 billion last year. They fell about 16 percent from the second quarter.

Lucent said last month it saw third-quarter revenue from continuing operations falling 10 percent to 15 percent from $3.52 billion in the second quarter. It said then it expected its loss, before charges, would be smaller than the second quarter loss of 20 cents a share, which included a charge of 6 cents related to new tax legislation. It also said improvement from the 14-cent loss, excluding the tax charge, was possible.

© Reuters