In its first earnings report since agreeing to merge with Lucent Technologies, Alcatel reported a drop in first-quarter net income on Thursday and warned that increasing competition will probably slow its revenue growth in the second quarter. Revenue for the first quarter grew 17.6 percent to 3.1 billion euros (US$3.8 billion as of March 31, the last date of the period being reported), from 2.6 billion euros in the first quarter last year. But net income fell to 104 million euros, from 124 million in the first quarter last year, Alcatel said. A drop in income in Alcatel’s mobile communications segment contributed to the slower growth. Alcatel’s mobile business brought in 57 million euros in income during the quarter, compared to 66 million a year earlier. Revenue for the mobile business, however, grew 15 percent over the same period, to 908 million euros. The Paris-based company reported solid income growth in its fixed-line business, which increased to 110 million euros from 50 million in the first quarter last year. Revenue for the fixed line operation grew 29 percent to 1.3 billion euros. Demand from operators for network equipment that can allow them to offer triple-play services as well as the transition from dial-up to DSL is driving sales for the group, Alcatel said. Alcatel also said that it grew its business in North America by 50 percent compared to the same time last year. Looking ahead, Alcatel expects revenue to increase by only a single-digit percentage for the second quarter. The company blamed intensifying competition for the expected slowdown. Alcatel also announced Thursday that it has appointed Christian Reinaudo, currently president of Alcatel’s Asia Pacific business, to lead the team that will be responsible for managing the integration with Lucent. Earlier this week, Lucent also reported a drop in first-quarter earnings, blaming lower sales and litigation charges. The two companies announced their intention to merge in April. The deal is expected to be completed in six to 12 months, Alcatel said.-Nancy Gohring, IDG News ServiceFor related news coverage, read Lucent Earnings Drop Ahead of Planned Merger and Alcatel Hands Satellites to Thales Ahead of Lucent Deal.Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content opinion Website spoofing: risks, threats, and mitigation strategies for CIOs In this article, we take a look at how CIOs can tackle website spoofing attacks and the best ways to prevent them. By Yash Mehta Dec 01, 2023 5 mins CIO Cyberattacks Security brandpost Sponsored by Catchpoint Systems Inc. Gain full visibility across the Internet Stack with IPM (Internet Performance Monitoring) Today’s IT systems have more points of failure than ever before. Internet Performance Monitoring provides visibility over external networks and services to mitigate outages. By Neal Weinberg Dec 01, 2023 3 mins IT Operations brandpost Sponsored by Zscaler How customers can save money during periods of economic uncertainty Now is the time to overcome the challenges of perimeter-based architectures and reduce costs with zero trust. By Zscaler Dec 01, 2023 4 mins Security feature LexisNexis rises to the generative AI challenge With generative AI, the legal information services giant faces its most formidable disruptor yet. That’s why CTO Jeff Reihl is embracing and enhancing the technology swiftly to keep in front of the competition. By Paula Rooney Dec 01, 2023 6 mins Generative AI Digital Transformation Cloud Computing Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe