Alcatel shares were down 10.6% at EUR15.16 in afternoon trading in Paris, their lowest level in almost three years. The shares were also hit by the overnight fall in US technology shares.

In July, Alcatel reported its first net loss in six years as it took a charge of EUR3.2bn ($2.6bn) to write down the value of acquisitions and account for excess inventories. The news was reported by the FT.