Info Tech
Alcatel CEO to quit after 1.4 billion euro loss
PARIS – Telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent (ALUA.PA) said its chief executive was leaving after it swung to a net loss of 1.37 billion euros ($1.85 billion) for 2012, hit by lower sales in Europe and China and a write down of its wireless and optics businesses.
CEO Ben Verwaayen said the company needed a new leader to complete its turnaround when his mandate ends in May.
“If you look at the task at hand, it is focused on execution,” said the Dutch-born executive. “Looking in the mirror, I felt maybe that’s not my natural strength, and maybe it will be good for the company to get fresh perspective.”
The group, which was formed in a merger in 2006, said it would look for a successor internally and externally, and gave no timetable for the appointment.
Since arriving in September 2008, Verwaayen has been unable to deliver on his pledge to return the group to “normal”, with steady cash flow and profit.
Its stock has lost 70 percent since then, destroying about 7 billion euros in market capitalization and knocking it out of the French blue-chip index. The European technology index .SX8P was flat over the same period.
The company’s shares were up 7.8 percent at 0908 GMT on Thursday, however, as Verwaayen’s departure opened the door to more drastic restructuring of the group.
“Verwaayen’s track record has been at best mixed: the group is still posting losses, its position in the market has been eroded, and revenues have shrunk,” said Alexander Peterc, analyst at Exane BNParibas.
“The shareholder can only welcome the arrival of a new CEO to shake things up.”
Peterc said Verwaayen had not gone far enough on cost cuts and asset sales, compared with competitor Nokia-Siemens Networks NOKI.UL (NSN), which laid off a quarter of its staff and sold off large chunks of the business to get back to profitability last quarter.
Even after Verwaayen trimmed the product portfolio and pushed through several rounds of lay-offs, the group remains hobbled by its smaller size and higher proportional cost base relative to rivals Ericsson (ERICb.ST), China’s Huawei HWT.UL and NSN. Outside the United States, Alcatel has small market share in mobile and has not kept pace with new radio antenna technology now sold by Ericsson and Huawei.
BACK INTO THE RED
The group’s fragility was laid bare last year when telecom operators cut back on spending on network gear as the global economic downturn dragged on, forcing Alcatel back into the red after its first annual profit in 2011 since its merger.
Sales fell 5.7 percent to 14.45 billion euros last year.
The group’s annual adjusted operating profit was 117 million euros, giving it a margin of 2.9 percent, far below the 5-9 percent margins Verwaayen had once promised.
It burned through 679 million euros in cash for the year.
In the fourth quarter, usually the strongest for telecom gear groups, sales fell 1.3 percent from a year earlier to 4.1 billion euros, as strong U.S. growth was swallowed by weakness in Europe and Asia.
Sales were largely in line with analysts’ estimates for 4.12 billion euros in the fourth quarter and 14.51 billion for the year, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The company’s net loss stemmed largely from a writedown of 1.4 billion euros “related to the depreciation of goodwill and fixed assets, and the corresponding impact on deferred tax”.
Chief Financial Officer Paul Tufano said the charge was linked to the lower value of its wireless and optics businesses.
MORE ASSETS SALES
Alcatel-Lucent sold its growing call-center business Gensys to private equity firms for $1.5 billion last year, but couldn’t unload its unprofitable enterprise unit, which it wanted to get rid of at the same time. Further asset sales are now being studied, such as the undersea cable unit.
Alcatel is likely to get some help from an expected uptick in spending on telco equipment by global carriers this year.
Market research group Gartner forecasts sales of network equipment will rise 2.3 percent to $79 billion in 2013, after falling 6.6 percent to $77.3 billion last year.
Verwaayen told a conference call that a rebound in spending by operators in China and continued strength in the United States would lead to higher sales of equipment this year.
He did not provide annual guidance for this year, however.
Shares in Alcatel have risen nearly 30 percent this year, helped by a 2 billion-euro financing package that the company sealed in January, reassuring investors about its balance-sheet strength. But to get the loans, Alcatel had to pledge its portfolio of 29,000 patents and its U.S. unit as collateral, in a sign of lenders’ worries about the group’s future.
The refinancing deal has given Alcatel-Lucent some breathing space to try to repair its problems, analysts said, a task that will now fall to the next chief executive.
In efforts at spicing up the 2023 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue, the management of ITREALMS Media has partnered with E-waste Producer Responsibility Organization of Nigeria (EPRON) membership organisations for a day-long collection scheme of small electronic waste on Friday, December 15, 2023.
The EPRON members aligning their partnership with 2023 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue are EL-AS Tech Enterprises Limited and WEEE Eco-Friendly.
ITREALMS’ day-long collection scheme is part of the commemoration of 2023 international E-Waste Day (IEWD) within the ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue with the theme “You Can Recycle Anything with a plug, battery or cable” at Welcome Centre Hotels, International Airport Road, Lagos.
Revealing this collaboration, the Group Executive Editor, ITREALMS Media, the organisers of the 2023 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue, Sir. Remmy Nweke, urged mobile device enthusiasts to come along with their devices that have reached their end-of-life to the venue for proper disposition by professionals who would also be on grounds to address some topical issues.
The collection of small electronic wastes especially mobile phones and like-devices, would be carried out by EPRON member organisation, EL-AS Tech Enterprises Limited as facilitated by ITREALMS Media group as part of this year’s ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue on Friday, December 15, he added.
He disclosed that the exercise would commence at Welcome Centre Hotel by 9am till close of work hours the same day.
Nweke pointed out that the collection of small e-waste items would include mobile phones, pointers mouse, earpieces, rechargeable torches, phone chargers, to name a few.
Further, he said, that this initiative has become time-serving because some people may have missed any other opportunity before now for the year-long campaign, hence this awareness on e-Waste has to be continuous, “ITREALMS came up with this scheme.”
Nweke beckoned on Nigerians, especially mobile phone users, to leverage the opportunity in disposing of their mobile devices they no longer use, of course in exchange for a voucher or gift item.
In her reaction to this year’s day-long small waste collection, EPRON Executive Secretary, Mrs. Ibukun Faluyi, described the initiative as commendable, expressing confidence it would intensify the collection of end-of-life devices for proper disposition.
Mrs. Faluyi, also urged Nigerians to take advantage of this day-long collection of small wastes courtesy of ITREALMS Media.
Recalling for instance that in October 2022, EPRON had partnered SLOT alongside some UN agencies for collection of small e-waste items in Lagos, including the United Nations Information Centres (UNIC), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), International Labour Organisation (ILO), Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA).
This is even as the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Dr. Aminu Maida and Director-General, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Prof. Aliyu Jauro, would both lead speakers at the 2023 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue slated for this Friday, December 15, in Lagos.
Today, September 12, the tech corporation Apple will introduce the iPhone 15, their newest iPhone model.
According to a Forbes story, this model, which will be introduced at the company’s “Wanderlust” event in Cupertino, California, will be available in four variations: the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Here are five things you should know about the new iPhone 15 model.
1. The new model is made of titaniu, not stainless steel as some other Apple smartphone models, Senior research analyst at DIGITIMES, Luke Lin reports.
2. The Pro Max model will feature double the optical zoom on the iPhone 14 as it comes with a newly-introduced ‘periscope lens upgrade, performing 5-6x optical zoom.’
3. The Pro models will carry an A17 bionic chip expected to make it perform faster.
4. The iPhone 15 model will feature a USB-C charging port, the same port featured on some Android phone models.
5. Due to its titanium shell, the new model is anticipated to be more expensive to purchase. The following is the speculated price list, as reported by Forbes:
The iPhone 15 starts at $799, the iPhone 15 Plus at $899, the iPhone 15 Pro at $1,099 ($100 increase), and the iPhone 15 Pro Max at $1,299 ($200 increase).
In an effort to reduce the exorbitant cost of Premium Motor Spirit, better known as petrol, the Infrastructure Bank Plc announced its collaboration with FEMADEC Group on Monday to offer 500 buses powered by autogas (Compressed Natural Gas).
Partners in the agreement claimed that the project was created to provide citizens with dependable, affordable, and environmentally friendly travel options, taking into account the negative effects of the nationwide increase in PMS costs.
Under Decree No. 51 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 1992 Constitution, the Infrastructure Bank, originally known as the Urban Development Bank of Nigeria Plc, was founded in 1992 to promote the quick development of infrastructure throughout the nation.
In a statement issued in Abuja on its partnership with FEMADEC, the bank said, “The preliminary offer extended by TIB lays a solid foundation for the expansion of FEMADEC Group’s CNG bus fleet.
“With plans to introduce 500 CNG buses within the next five years, commencing with an initial batch of 50 buses in the forthcoming year, this proposal stands poised to instigate significant change.
“The acceptance of this proposition by FEMADEC Group, notably championed by Fola Akinnola, the Group Chief Executive Officer, is a testament to their zeal and dedication to this alliance.”
The bank described the partnership as a “pivotal endeavour that is primed to redefine Nigeria’s public transportation landscape, offering dependable, cost-effective, and ecologically conscious travel alternatives for citizens, while harmonising with the nation’s broader sustainability ambitions.”
“This partnership represents a remarkable stride towards a more ecologically aware future for Nigeria’s transportation sector, highlighting the shared commitment of both TIB and FEMADEC Group to sustainable advancement and progress.”
It said FEMADEC Group’s strides in operating Compressed Natural Gas buses, including the existing fleet of 20 CNG buses under LAMATA, underscored their unwavering dedication to ecologically sound solutions, a commitment predating the fuel subsidy removal.
“Their leadership within the CNG value chain is undeniable, and the new alliance with TIB underscores their foresight.
“This partnership seamlessly aligns with TIB’s sustainability objectives, echoing their resolute endorsement of the government’s net-zero and climate change agenda.
“The bank’s aspiration to champion Nigeria’s infrastructure progress is evident in its endorsement of pivotal initiatives like this, yielding expansive positive impacts on both the environment and society,” the bank stated.
The bank added that it would continue to make a significant contribution to the country’s growth as a leading financial institution committed to advancing effective and long-lasting infrastructure projects.
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