Alcatel's losses drop, new Americas chief named

Alcatel-Lucent saw its net losses for the third quarter drop to $51 million, compared to a $441 million net loss from the third quarter last year, because of lower restructuring costs.

The equipment maker posted sales of $3.49 billion, down 13 percent from a year earlier.

The company said it was undertaking a comprehensive view of its business strategy, aimed at returning it to profitability, and might consider selling its stake in the military contractor Thales, valued at $1.63 billion currently. "We need to streamline our portfolio," said CEO Ben Verwaayen, on the company's earnings call.

The company reiterated its outlook for the year, and said it expects sales to fall to the low- to mid-single digit percentage range.

Yesterday, the company announced a new head of its Americas region, Robert Vrij, who had previously been CEO of Openwave Systems. He replaces Cindy Christy, who resigned from the post in early September. Jim Cocito, the region's chief operating officer, had been filling the position on an interim basis.

For more:
- see this article
[1]- see this article [2] on Vrij 
[1]
[1]Related Articles:
Cindy Christy resigns from Alcatel-Lucent
[3]Alcatel-Lucent [4] post huge loss; CEO, chairman step down
The 25 Most Powerful People in Wireless:  Ben Verwaayen [5], CEO Alcatel Lucent

[3]

[1]