LONDON: British telecoms equipment maker Marconi Corporation Plc. has recorded a 9 per cent increase in its second quarter revenue at 312 million pounds, compared with the first quarter. It also posted an adjusted profit from operations of 7 million pounds, compared with a loss of 6 million pounds in the previous quarter.
The company said its first-half revenue stood at 597 million pounds, in line with last year, but there had been a loss from operations of 31 million pounds, mainly as a result of 29 million pounds towards restructuring costs.
Marconi is selling much of its business to Swedish telecom major Ericsson 16.8 billion Swedish crowns. The group will be re-named Telent Plc after the deal is finalised.
The company's pension deficit rose to 358 million pounds at the end of September 2005, up from 230 million pounds six months ago.
Meanwhile, the company announced a detailed plan for the return of 577.5 million pounds to shareholders through a special dividend and share consolidation. It will pay a special dividend of 275 pence a share from the funds it will receive from Ericsson. Telent will consolidate every seven existing shares into two new shares to keep the share price at a stable level following the pay-out.
The company will also pay 185 million pounds from the sale proceeds to the pension fund and put 490 million pounds in an escrow account to cover liabilities.
The deal and the dividend payout are to be discussed and approved by an extraordinary meeting of the shareholders on 21 December.
Posted
on : Sat, 26 Nov 2005 21:50 GMT | Business News
By : Mike Lawson
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