MUMBAI.- Nortel Networks Corp. is focusing on its existing business, including lifting Asia’s share of its revenues, and takeovers could also help a return to profitability, Chief Executive Mike Zafirovski said on Monday.
Toronto-based Nortel, North America’s biggest maker of telephone equipment, has been cutting costs and trying to boost revenues. Nortel reported a loss of $37 million for its second quarter.
«It will take us 3 to 5 years to recreate that great company,» Zafirovski told reporters in Mumbai, India’s financial hub.
«Most of the emphasis is on organic growth. Still, we are of course talking to people,» he said. Zafirovski said earlier this month that Nortel was in talks with potential takeover targets.
Last month, UBS analyst Nikos Theodosopoulos said that 3Com Corp., Sonus Networks and Tellabs could be potential targets for Nortel, but Zafirovski would not be drawn on specifics.
«Most acquisitions fail for two reasons. If you overpay or you do a poor job integrating. For any acquisition, we are going to ensure that we not going to overpay and we integrate that well,» Zafirovski said.
Asian growth
Michael Pangia, president of Nortel’s Asian operations, said the company aims to raise the region’s share of revenues to 20-25 percent in the next two to three years from 15 percent now.
Of that total, India accounts for about 3 to 4 percent of revenue and the share is constantly rising, Zafirovski said.
«With the rapid strides taking place in India’s telecommunication industry in particular, it is an exciting time to be in the country,» he said.
Ravi Chauhan, Nortel’s head of Indian operations, said the company was in talks with all major telecoms operators to push WiMax, technology which offers wireless high-speed Internet access, in Asia’s third-largest economy.
Chauhan also said the company hoped to make some announcement in coming weeks, but did not give further details.
Nortel has a five-year contract with India’s top mobile firm, Bharti Airtel, to provide contact centre services. It also has other telecom majors Reliance Communications and state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam as customers.
In addition to wireless equipment, Nortel sells call centre equipment to the outsourcing industry.
Nortel, which has nearly 1,000 employees in India, has outsourcing partnerships with Indian software exporters including Wipro, Infosys and Tata Consultancy.
Fuente: Reuters
