Telecom network equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent posted second-quarter sales slightly lower than expectations and announced the September departure of its chief executive ahead of being bought by rival Nokia .The Franco-American company, which Nokia will pay 15.6 billion euro for in a deal set to close by mid-2016, also improved its margins to deliver better-than-expected operating profit thanks to cost cuts, and generated more cash than it consumed in the quarter, the first time it has done so in a second quarter since 2006.Getting to free cash flow positive remains the key goal of Alcatel-Lucent in the turnaround plan launched by Chief Executive Michel Combes in April 2013. He will step aside on Sept. 1 to be replaced by Chairman Philippe Camus until the Nokia deal closes."We are fully mobilised to achieving the free cash flow goal and have created an organisation that is much more resilient than in the past," said Chief Financial Officer Jean Raby on a conference call.
Alcatel Lucent is a provider of Internet protocol (IP) and cloud networking and ultra-broadband access. Shares of ALU fell by 0.28% or $-0.01/share to $3.55. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $2.28 and as high as $4.96. On average, 5893220 shares of ALU exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3254477.
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