Alcatel post poor Q4 profits

French telecom manufacturer Alcatel http://www.alcatel.com has disappointed investors, after it posted a net income of 40 million euros for the fourth quarter of 2004. As the company reports in a statement on its website, this is about a third of what analysts were hoping for, despite making a return to profit following losses of 524 million in the 2003 Christmas quarter. The company blamed the losses on investments in emerging markets, which impacted the gross margin, falling to 34.4 per cent in the fourth quarter compare with 17.3 per cent for the year as a whole. http://www.alcatel.com/vpr/