The head of telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent says the company expects growth of up to 5% in 2010 as competition for new hardware remains strong.
Alcatel-Lucent makes hardware for telecommunications networks, and designed, built and operates Telecom's XT network.
It's bottom line remained in the red in the three months to June, but the underlying result, which excludes restructuring and merger costs, swung from a loss to a $US36 million profit.
Sales were boosted by strong spending by US telcos, who are investing in network build-outs to support increased use of smartphones and mobile internet.
The company's chief executive, Ben Verwaayen, says he is confident spending by telecommunications firms on new equipment and infrastructure will remain strong through the middle of next year.
