A woman holds a smartphone in front of a screen displaying both Nokia and Alcatel Lucent logos in this photo illustration in Paris, April 14, 2015. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Nokia, Alcatel-Lucent post strong results as merger approaches
Facing intense competition in sector, and soft demand from telecom operators
Leila Abboud and Jussi Rosendahl
PARIS/HELSINKI (Reuters) – Shares in telecom network gear makers Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent jumped on Thursday after both posted strong second-quarter results, giving a positive signal ahead of their pending merger.
Nokia’s 15.6 billion euro ($17 billion) acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent announced in mid-April aims to position the company to better compete with market leader Ericsson and low-cost Chinese powerhouse Huawei, by forging a strong number two in mobile with a more complete product line.
But with competition in the sector remaining intense and demand from telecom operators soft, some investors still have concerns about the marriage.
