Monster equipment vendor Alcatel-Lucent said Wednesday that fourth quarter revenues were down 5.4 per cent year on year to Eur4.95bn, while net loss sank to Eur3.87bn compared to a profit of Eur2.56bn in the same period in 2007.

Wireless access and convergence revenues took the biggest battering, down 15 per cent and 22 per cent respectively during the final three months of 2008, while impairment charges took their toll over the year.

For full year 2008, Alcatel-Lucent booked total asset impairment charges of Eur4.72bn, reflected in the full year net loss of Eur5.2bn.

Newly installed CEO Ben Verwaayen, said: “The asset impairment charge that severely impacted our bottom line was made necessary by the drastic deterioration of the global economic outlook during the fourth quarter as well our decision to shift to a more focused portfolio.”

Since January 1, a new organisation has been in place, with a newly appointed team to implement the new business model and execute a strategic plan to reduce costs by Eur750m on an annual run rate by end 2009. The realignment of management positions is underway as is the 5,000 reduction in the number of contractors.

Alcatel-Lucent is streamlining its product portfolio, refocusing its mobile WiMAX investment on what it calls the enhanced wireless DSL market opportunity, while at the same time significantly boosting investments in LTE. The company said it is also exploring co-sourcing and partnering options.

For 2009, the company expects the global telecommunications equipment and related services market to be down between 8 per cent and 12 per cent at constant currency in 2009. The company continues to anticipate an adjusted operating profit around break even in 2009.