Nortel revenues plummet but profit up on back of CDMA sale

Bankrupt telecoms vendor Nortel Networks reported a profit of US$1.78 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009, mainly due to the gain of US$1.2 billion received from the sale of its CDMA business to Ericsson. The quarterly profit compares to a loss of US$2.14 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008 and a loss of US$508 million in the third quarter of 2009.

Revenues for the three months ending December 31, 2009 slumped to US$794 million following declines across all its business segments and international regions. Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2008 were US$2.07 billion.

In full year 2009 results revenues reached US$4.09 billion, down 46 per cent from US$7.62 billion in 2008. The company posted an annual net profit of US$488 million, compared to a net loss of US$5.8 billion during the previous 12 month period.

Since filing for creditor protection in January 2009, Nortel has been steadily selling off its various assets. Most recently, the firm received approval to sell nearly all of its global Carrier VoIP and Application Solutions (CVAS) business to Genband for US$282 million. The deal was initially announced December 23, however the approval from bankruptcy courts in Canada and the United States was confirmed on March 3. Genband is a Texas-headquartered global supplier of IP gateways and FMC security solutions.