Nortel loses $2.13B US in Q4

A drop in revenue and big charges sent Nortel Networks to a loss of $2.13 billion US in the fourth quarter, the company said Monday.

In a release issued prior to the opening of stock markets, Nortel — which has been in creditor protection since January — said its bottom line was hit by $2.19 billion in non-cash charges to reduce goodwill and deferred tax assets.

In the fourth quarter of the previous year, Nortel lost $844 million.

The telecommunications equipment maker said its fourth-quarter revenues fell 15 per cent year-over-year to $2.72 billion.

"The fourth quarter revenues decreased 15 per cent as the market continued to deteriorate and customers either reduced or deferred spending," said Nortel president and CEO Mike Zafirovski.

The company did not schedule a conference call with analysts to discuss its results, nor did it offer any financial guidance for the future.

For the full year, Nortel said its revenue came in at $10.42 billion, a drop of five per cent from 2007. The company reported a net loss for 2008 of $5.8 billion, or $11.64 a share, compared to a net loss of $957 million, or $1.98 a share, for the year 2007.

Nortel also said that Pavi Binning, the firm's current financial officer, has been named chief restructuring officer. Binning will continue to report to Zafirovski.