ALU 1Q07 adjusted results

ALU reports 1Q07 adjusted revenues down 8% proforma to €3.88bn, a gross profit of €1.3bn down 24%, and an operating loss of €244m vs profit of €246m. Net income amounted to €199m. In the Carrier segment, revenues (€2.8bn) were down 10%, due to the mobile division (down 15%) to €1.2bn, in spite of a stable wireline division (+1%) at €1.29bn. The Enterprise segment performed well with an increase of 12% in revenues. ALU delivered 7.3m ADSL lines in the quarter. The weakest point is mobile, and particularly in 2G GSM radio. ALU is still pursuing savings following the merger, but said it is on track with its target of €1.7bn within three years. Everything, however, is not negative. ALU reported a strong momentum in orders across all segments, with a book-to-bill at 1.3. Future could be rosier, but analysts worried about late merger execution, specially in the mobile segment where interoperability between Alcatel, Lucent and Nortel equipment will need another year working. The CEO, however, remains optimistic: forecast of 2Q07 revenue growth of 10% and full-year revenue growth of 4% to 6%. ''We ought to be able to grow faster than the market,'' Pat Russo said. Be true!