Lucent lowers sales forecast

Lucent Technologies [NYSE: LU] has lowered its expected revenues for the latest quarter and sees a delay in returning to profitability.

The company readjusted its forecast to a modest-to-10% improvement on a sequential basis for Q2 from the previous guidance of the top line of a 10-15% improvement. Sales are now expected to be down about 25% from the year-earlier quarter.

Lucent chief financial officer and executive vice president Frank D'Amelio said that the ongoing uncertainty in the service provider market will most likely cause Lucent's return to profitability and positive cash flow to slip into fiscal year 2003.

This guidance will be updated at the company's Q2 earnings announcement on April 22.

However, the company also said it still expects to narrow its losses.

D'Amelio said: "The progress we are making with our restructuring program will enable us to deliver the fifth quarter in a row of sequential improvement in the bottom line."

Lucent's loss from continuing operations, excluding a range of items, should improve from Q1. The company expects that gross margins in the 20% range are achievable for Q2.

Lucent started a re-structuring and cost-cutting exercise in January, 2001. Back then, the company employed 106,000 people. It now has approximately 62,000 workers. In Ireland, Lucent employs around 660 after making 40 redundant last year.