Lucent Technologies Inc. charged ahead during the first half of the year, recording a substantial jump in profit growth and edging ahead of Nokia Corp. as the major players’ leader in net income for the first half of the year.
Profit leaders
Lucent displaced Alcatel as the profit leader for the first six months of 1999, reporting $1.19 billion of net income and producing an impressive increase of 3,211 percent from the first six months in 1998. Alcatel fell from first place in 1998 to sixth place, with $229.9 million in profits, a dramatic 90.4-percent decline from the $2.39 billion for the first six months of 1998. Alcatel’s decline from 1998 was the most in aggregate dollars of any vendor in the major players.
Nokia and L.M. Ericsson retained their respective second- and third-place positions, though Ericsson saw its net income decrease 38.4 percent from 1998. Nokia recorded a profit of $1.12 billion, compared with $650.6 million in 1998. Ericsson’s net income fell from $612.47 million in the first half of 1998 to $377 million this year.
Motorola Inc. grabbed fourth place, displacing Tellabs Inc., which moved to fifth place for the first six months of the year. Motorola, which recorded a net loss of $1.15 billion in the first half of 1998, reported profits of $377 million this year.
Wireless data equipment vendor Research in Motion Ltd. recorded the second-largest profit growth from the first half of 1998 to the first half of 1999. RIM’s profits increased 155.9 percent, to $4.73 million this year from $1.85 million in 1998. Mobile Mini Inc. and Nokia grabbed third and fourth place, respectively. Mobile Mini’s profit increased 122 percent, to $3.29 million from $1.48 million the year-ago half. Nokia, whose wireless handsets are garnering strong demand worldwide, saw its profits jump 72 percent to $1.12 billion the first half of this year.
Revenue leaders
Not surprisingly, businesses representing some of the hottest segments in the wireless industry led in revenue growth. Phone.com Inc., maker of mobile Internet products and services, increased its revenue 498.4 percent from 1998, recording revenues of $10.26 million in the first half of the year, compared with $1.71 million in 1998. Tower company Crown Castle Inc. followed closely behind Phone.com, increasing its revenues 467.6 percent. It recorded $132.6 million in revenues the first half of the year.
World Access Inc., a wireless product vendor, took third place, posting a 454.4-percent jump in revenues from the previous year, while another tower company, SpectraSite Holdings Inc., saw its revenues increase to $17.34 million from $3.68 million in 1998, a 371.8-percent jump.
Matsushita Electric placed first in overall revenues as it did during the first half of 1998. It earned nearly $27.9 billion during the first six months of the year, an 8.75-percent decrease from the year-ago half. NEC Corp. again ranked second, gaining revenues of $24.9 billion, a rise of 44.4 percent from the first six months of 1998.
Lucent edged out Motorola for third place, reporting $17.5 billion in revenues, an increase of 26.8 percent. Motorola moved to fourth place, with revenues of $14.7 billion, a 6-percent increase from 1998.
Fourteen companies in the major players reported a decrease in revenues, with SED International Holdings Inc. reporting the largest decrease of 31 percent. Superconductor Technologies’ revenues fell 28.4 percent from 1998.
