By Alex Scroxton29 October 2008
Shares in struggling Alcatel-Lucent have rallied today as
recently-installed CEO Ben Verwaayen puts the finishing touches to his first
earnings announcement in charge, scheduled to be released tomorrow.
Alcatel-Lucent watchers are tipping the numbers to be better
than anticipated thanks to the impact of the strengthening dollar, but
according to analysts quizzed by Reuters, Verwaayen is not expected to rock the
boat with any major restructuring announcements or new initiatives.
Verwaayen, who took over at the Franco-American comms giant
after the ignominious exit of former boss Pat Russo over the summer, gained
recognition in the industry for turning around the fortunes of BT, and
Alcatel-Lucent is banking on a repeat performance.
In its last set of quarterlies, Alcatel-Lucent said it
expected its third quarter revenues to be flat to slightly down sequentially,
followed by a strong ramp in the fourth quarter.
The firm also named Robert Vrij, formerly of Openwave
Systems, as the new head of its Americas division.
Vrij will be based out of Alcatel-Lucent’s New
Jerseyhub and replaces the outgoing Cindy Christy. Vrij
must now hit the ground running as Alcatel-Lucent’s North American arm has been
repeatedly fingered as the source of much of its woes.
