Alcatel-Lucent posted a net profit of EUR 868 million in the fourth quarter, up sharply from EUR 340 million a year earlier thanks to a tax accounting gain of EUR 353 million. The company's revenues, excluding the divested Genesys unit, reached EUR 4.256 billion, down 12.5 percent year-over-year and up 12.1 percent sequentially. Revenues fell in all geographic areas and were down 16.1 percent year-on-year at its main Networks business. The drop was the strongest in wireless, down 22.8 percent to EUR 893 million. Only the Enterprise division managed a small revenue increase of 0.3 percent. Adjusted operating profit was down 19.8 percent to EUR 316 million, and the margin fell to 7.4 percent from 8.1 percent. The full-year margin was 3.9 percent, versus a company forecast for around 4 percent. Alcatel-Lucent reiterated plans to cut another EUR 500 million in costs this year and said it targets an operating margin higher than in 2011, as well as a strong cash position at year-end. After free cash flow of EUR 541 million in the quarter, Alcatel finished the year with just EUR 60 million in net debt. The company will not pay a dividend for 2011.
