Marconi braced for grim news

Grim news is expected when Marconi unveils its interim results next Tuesday.

Analysts say the company will continue its loss-making cycle.

A pre-tax loss of £898m is expected, compared with a previous profit of £276m.

In September, Marconi reported positive cash flow and completed the sale of its Medical Business.

However, analysts believe its plan to cut net debt to around £2.7bn by March next year is unrealistic.

They say the company will suffer from increased competition from other telecommunications companies by neglecting its research and development programme.

Sanjay Jha, of Williams de Broe, said: "Even if the company is successful in cutting net debt to around £3bn by end-March, it will still leave Marconi in a very vulnerable position.

"In all probability, the shares are worthless but this will not become apparent for some time."