Telecommunications equipment supplier Northern Telecom Ltd reported second quarter net profits up 56.5% at $169m on revenues up 25.8% at $3.787bn over the same period in 1996. The company’s bottom line was boosted by a one time pre-tax gain of $102m from the sale of both its TTS Meridian Systems Inc and Nortel Communications Systems Inc US distribution businesses to WilTel Communications earlier this year. The company said that the second quarter revenue growth was higher than it had expected following strong sales in the US and Europe. However the company says that sales in the increasingly important Asia/Pacific region were flat year on year. Nortel says it saw substantial increase in demand for its Wireless network, public carrier networks and Broadband network offerings. However the company says the sale of its US distribution has hit revenues from its Enterprise network products. The Canadian company which reports in US dollars closed down 1.38% at 98 cents per share.
