Alcatel Optronics' revenue continues to fall sharply
"The first quarter came in as expected, although in a very disappointing environment. Further cuts in 2002 capex at the carriers level make it unlikely that system houses will eventually utilize their existing components inventories, and even more unlikely that they will place significant new orders in the near future," said Jean-Christophe Giroux, CEO.
Giroux said that Alcatel Optronics plans to introduce, later on this year, its first hybrid solutions combining InP actives and planar passives, which will provide benefits in terms of footprint, scalability and cost.
At the same time, the strategic alliance formed with Multilink Technology Corporation on high-speed ICs will reinforce Alcatel Optronics time-to-market and reactivity in the transceiver market. Also, the company has announced a series of multi-source agreements with a variety of leading vendors to foster industry standardization and maturity.
"It is mandatory for the industry to prepare next-generation solutions, and we re intensely engaged in discussions with all customers to provide the appropriate response to their needs," said Giroux. "This design-in activity is expected to generate fresh revenue in the back-end of 2002 and further ramp-up into 2003."
However, in the short term Alcatel Optronics expects revenue to fall by 30% in the second quarter of 2002, although cost-cutting measures should allow the company to maintain operating results at around the same level as Q1.
Charlotte Laurent-Ottomane
Investor Relations
Tel: + 1 703 679 6710 (US)
Tel: +33 1 40 76 13 30 (France)
E-mail: charlotte.laurent-ottomane@alcatel.com
Web site: http://www.alcatel.com
