There are lots of fascinating things about Nortel but most recently, it has been interesting to see how the company has unleased an ambitious public relations campaign featuring many of its senior executives. Whether it’s chief technology officer John Roese talking about the need for more bandwidth, or chief strategy officer George Riedel speculating about acquisitions or CEO Mike Zafirovski speaking yesterday about how “the stars are aligning for Nortel to come back very strong”, there’s a definite theme happening. This approach compares with Zafirovski’s predecessors, Bill Owens, who was clearly uncomfortable talking to the high-tech media, and Frank Dunn, who found his distain for the media difficult to hide. With most of the company’s problem (accounting scandal, class-action lawsuits, layoffs, etc.) now behind it, clearly Nortel believes the time is right to start talking the talking (we’ll see if the company can walk the walk with better results). Zafirovski, who has been a keynote machine recently, was in Montreal yesterday offering some optimism about the future. “I do believe as 2006 winds down, this will show a nice improvement over 2005,” he said, adding he’s looking to the growth of video over the Internet to provide new opportunities.
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All Nortel, All the Time 
October 24, 2006 at 11:16 pm |
Why do they speak under the obligation of optimsm with such obvious uneasiness?
Mike talked with his hands, throwing them in the air often at the Canadian Club speach. He was speaking in a deafist tone, dry, and like Currie, somewhat shook up. You can see it at the Candian Club’s web site.
It is as though they are all speaking against their own conscience! All of them since Dunn, as Mikey boasts old school mentality is gone! Where did itr go and what mentality has replaced this older dream team with his green team. We see the stock and company’s ongoing performance. What has changed? What has the ethics officer done. Screened his arrival with Motorola they had to pay a premium to save face after Owens was abruptly shuffled off in this CEO turnstile.
If I may vent here on painful events as a possible explanation!
This is a crass view of events lacking optimism. I forewarn, this is not for the faint of heart for those senstive to the critique of Nortel.
Cheeleading a dog or criticizing fraud, who is correct here by definition? Who has been correct last 3 years, the cheeleaders or critics? Media reiterates what critics say months later. Rude Nortel-holic cheerleaders should be thanking not personally attacking politer critics I find.
Look at unfathomable horrific suffering due to criminal theft on such a massive scale like Enron or Worldcom. Now look at the beyond staggeringly astounding events to date. There is no better classic example of bankruptcy in the making as ongoing endless contradicitons and events make this a laughing stock.
Turn-around was a lie/theft for immediate cash bonuses they still keep for a year worse every time they count it, fraud, one of the largest ever, mass orchastrated, always dramatically overstating, never under.
This fraud created a mega rally in the markets trading it at a whopping 47X bogus P/E and a market cap larger than the Royal Bank’s! (Which I suspect the residue here accounts for the current bloated price well above its traditional premium as unreliable numbers claim the stock isn’t worth a buck, let alone the truth the way they restated).
Talk about restatements, have you read the ammendments in their recent 8-K with Flextronics, it sounds hysterical in anyone’s language, to be read to be believed : http://biz.yahoo.com/e/061024/nt8-k.html
After almost a year in silence and endless delays, they change “dissatisfied numbers” last second, and get the restated restatement accepted soley on revenue recognition thanks to Cutler which was still false/restated yet again counting 2003 four times so far, worse every time.
The same people are still there “Difficult to find” Owens said. “Remaining silent under their councels’s advice” media claims. As criminal result loom for one of the worlds largest frauds and I suspect the very largest mass orchastrated fraud ever as a few dozen suddenly departed /retired /fired /etc., can’t possibly make up for this degree of mass orchastration or the gravity of a whopping $5 billion in revisions so far (motivated by widely issued immediate cash bonuses than traditional stock options! )
Their financials are still unreliable after Nortel extended repair of internal controls from 18 months they said well over a year ago to now 2008 when debt is councidentally due. Bad numbers from 2000 to 2008 is almost a decade. What’s going on?! Creditors increasing collateralization and bond applications requiring pension liabilities now be listed catch things too late by these loophole artists operating under safe harbour. Who extended the good will here anyways?
Q205 was horsefeathers too as Nortel still post financials like a sales flyer on their web site. Why? To sell shares to admittedly pay themselves, oxymoron of to “keep good people”, as they traditionally dilute more than they earn. How much did they dilute at a higher value of 100M shares a year. Still losing money. They deplete assets and print paper now to buy time.
Nortel even tanked settlement shares due to their own direct actions, initially downplayed revisions that doubled. Benefit of claiming profit from shares settlement with callous disregard to share price, what’s changed? Again, like the mega fraud, losses are claimed as profit as tanking the stock liabilities claims profit. Lies are proven to work it seems given Q205’s rally that was revised too!
Then they go out and print a multiple of their cash in Nortel paper bonds to pay creditors to also pay cash portion of settlement (meaning fraud cost them nothing in printing bonds and shares). Amazing they still relentlessly insist on keep hundreds of millions in cash bonuses for a year worse every time they count it, even by the week! With no guarantees to boot now. They called this settlement “fair” before tanking the shares to be paid with revisions increasingly staged weekly to double initial estimates then adding no guarantees. What fair? When? They provided formal financials BEFORE people plunked their money down only to be robbed. What “fair” now?
Downplaying further penalty is another corker clainming workl was already done when revisions were new. Also, with a reluctance to chase past officers even after repeated requests resuted in a derivative class action while they spending a cool million defending 5 others. Just what kind of company is this?
Everyone knows Nortel is still pay happy, just ask any lawyer. Their first time CEO who defrauded his past employer who passed him by is paid $37 million while ethical Gary Deichendt who abruptly quit was slandered.
A plea bargained timely resigned board denied obvious red flags for untraditional immediate cash bonuses they approved and received held over 80 no flies on us evangelicalized sermons and get 3 years to repay defraud bonuses like they went to vegas with them or something. Even their chief legal officer who was one of the largest bonus recipients suddenly “retired” with a golden handshake/parachute before Nortel darkest hour in settlement talks or court they tripped over their feet to settle at the plaitiff’s becon call, one largest majority shareholder with a vested intrest. Just what does a legal officer do to be commissioned with bonuses I always wondered.
Their business is declining, Worst every year with increasingly poor outlook. Even CEO admits, “financials are not strong”, “not shown profitable growth”, “debt rating isn’t good”, “No easy fixes or miracles”…
We see “tall mountains to climbs” with the “perfect storm” and endless contradictions in the making like the “stars are aligned”, but a laughing stock with BT, Putian, Huawei, Neptune, BSNL, Telstra, revisions, fines, reverse splits, criminal charges, derivative class actions, etc., as they cut products, staff, headquarters, manufacturing, sell last of assets to selling business? it is endless… insurmountable as they tank and tank…
Show me the money, show me an order, any order, last order was BSNL years ago and it lost hundreds of millions, even more in bonuses they keep and print billions in tanking paper and high risk bonds…to buy time
Cash from $4 billion to $1.6B by year end with mega fines that won’t take Nortel paper. How much will be left? What is left to feed 2007’s costs /higher negative cash flow/less business /margins as others merge heading into 2008’s $1.8B debt they can not collateralize. Moving money from revisions to boast 2006 optimism? Who believes them?
The printing of Nortel paper has worn thin, bonds are tougher to issue and shares are already diluted with another 628M coming (14.5% of the company’s equity). A reverse split is a nightmare for the shareholder/owner as it traditionally tanks stocks 75% of the time. They are toast but certainly powerful at resiliently defying delisting, bankruptcy, and courts with their ongoings or ploys .
Nortel is being whacked every which way it turns directionlessly but it astoundingly survives. How?
Same frauds, same dog, headed to zero this time with less cash and bloated with exponentially more woes when it traded for 43 cents…
What a horror story this disgraced yesteryear darling now laughing stock remains as they shoot directionlessly for WiMax/WiFi/IPTV/Server software/tribes in malls order/golf courses/apartment buildings/etc..
Show me the money is right, last order was years ago, BSNL.. BT didn’t want them any more than any partner in mergers… it is endless
Let them pay the defrauded fairly, then let them trade, never mind deals with the devil/negotiating with terrorists, we see what this does so far.
October 25, 2006 at 4:01 pm |
man! you really have time to waste!
October 25, 2006 at 9:20 pm |
Whew observer, that must feel good getting it all off your chest. Nice job.
October 26, 2006 at 12:40 pm |
Is Observer suffering from something? Is this a kind of therapeutic site where I’m supposed to make some sort of personal confession, thereby purging myself of some psychological ill? Just currious. Because if it is, I’m in the wrong place.
December 1, 2006 at 6:20 pm |
Good for Nortel. They need to get the story out.