Northern Telecom Ltd seems to have put its woes over a major reprogramming required for its telephone exchanges behind it, and the Brampton, Ontario company reported a 27.6% increase in fourth-quarter earnings, which was about in line with analysts’ expectations. The company, still 51.2% owned by BCE Inc, says it enjoyed significant growth in North American sales because of substantial gains in the US and strong growth in Canada. International markets also showed strong growth in the quarter, but gains in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region were partially offset by a substantial decline in Caribbean and Latin American sales. The company has benefited from rampaging cellular growth and higher spending by large companies on equipment.
