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Nortel meets 4Q target
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January 18, 2001: 4:49 p.m. ET
Better-than-expected revenue lifts results; confirms 1Q and 2001 guidance
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Nortel Networks Corp. met fourth-quarter earnings with better-than-expected revenue, and confirmed the guidance for results in the first quarter and all of 2001.
The telecommunications equipment provider earned $825 million, or 26 cents a diluted share, in the fourth quarter excluding goodwill. That was in line with forecasts of analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call.
The Brampton, Ontario-based company, which reports results in U.S. dollars, earned $607 million, or 21 cents a share in the year earlier period.
 In the third quarter, Nortel beat earnings estimates but saw its stock hammered for failing to meet revenue forecasts. This time it came in with revenue of $8.8 billion, which beat analysts' forecasts of $8.67 billion for the period, and up from the $6.57 billion it posted a year earlier.
The company said it expects first-quarter sales of $8.1 billion and earnings per share of 16 cents. While the revenue number is slightly below First Call's forecast of $8.24 billion, the profit guidance is in line.
"Considering the current economic environment and tightening of capital within the telecom sector, we are projecting growth in revenues and earnings per share from operations in 2001 over 2000 of 30 percent," said a statement from Frank Dunn, Nortel's chief financial officer. That growth rate would down from the 42 percent growth the company posted in both measures last year.
The 30 percent growth rate would give the company 2001 earnings per share of 96 cents a share and revenue or about $39.4 billion, which would about the same as current First Call forecasts for this year.
For full year 2000 Nortel posted earnings excluding special items of $2.31 billion, or 74 cents a diluted share, on revenue of $30.28 billion.
Including special items such as acquisition-related costs, stock options for employees, the company posted a net loss applicable to common shares $1.4 billion or 46 cents per share in the quarter, and a loss of $3.47 billion, or $1.17 a share for the year.
Shares of Nortel (NT: Research, Estimates), which trades in both New York and Toronto, gained $1.06 to 38 in after-hours U.S. trading, following a gain of $1.94 to $36.69 in U.S. trading Thursday ahead of the report. It saw its Toronto shares gain 2.60 Canadian dollars to C$54.60 in regular-hours activity there. 
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