|
Nortel sees growth
|
 |
November 21, 2000: 10:55 a.m. ET
Revenue, earnings gains seen in 4Q and 2000; optical to climb 35%
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Nortel Networks stock rose modestly Tuesday on news the company expects to report fourth-quarter and year-end results that match Wall Street expectations.
In early trading, shares of Nortel (NT: Research, Estimates) rose 50 cents to $35.75. The positive outlook from the Brampton, Ontario-based company echoes earlier guidance after it reported third-quarter earnings last month.
President and CEO John Roth told analysts at a Boston conference he sees growth in revenue and earnings per share from operations in 2000 to be in the low 40 percent range.
|
|
VIDEO
|
|
 CNNfn's Bruce Francis reports from Boston on Nortel's revenue and earnings. |
|
Real
|
28K
|
80K
|
|
Windows Media
|
28K
|
80K
|
|
"As we enter the final month of the quarter, we are very confident in our previously stated guidance of revenue and EPS from operations in the fourth quarter in the range of $8.5 billion to $8.8 billion and earnings per share of 26 cents on a fully diluted basis," Roth said.
Nortel, one of the world's largest makers of telecommunications equipment, is best known for its strength in optical networking, the transmission of information over optical fibers instead of copper wires.
 Roth said Nortel expects revenue from its optical networking unit to surge 125 percent in 2000 over 1999, exceeding $10 billion. He also estimates that the overall optical networking market in 2001 will grow more than 20 percent.
"Given our strong market position and leadership in high-performance Internet solutions, we continue to expect to grow significantly faster than the market, with anticipated growth in revenue and earnings per share from operations in the 30 to 35 percent range," Roth said.
Third quarter behind Nortel
The company's bullish expectations come on the heels of its third-quarter earnings, reported late last month. While those numbers beat Wall Street estimates by a penny, a revenue shortfall caused the company's stock and that of other optical networking companies to plunge.
Revenue in the third quarter increased 42 percent to $7.31 billion, but fell short of analysts' expectations of roughly $7.5 billion. Nortel said its revenue growth was fueled primarily by its optical Internet business, which jumped nearly 90 percent. The company aims to sell more than $10 billion of optical networking equipment this year.
Several other optical networking companies rose on the coattails of bellwether Nortel's guidance, including JDS Uniphase (JDSU: Research, Estimates), up $1.31 to $65.88, Ciena (CIEN: Research, Estimates), up $3.50 to $93.44, and Sycamore Networks (SCMR: Research, Estimates), up $1.44 to $59.75. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nortel
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
 |
|
