Bookham hit hard by Nortel decline

NEWS Optical networking firm Bookham Technologies has reported widened second quarter losses after its main client, Nortel, cut orders. Second quarter losses were £44.6m or 35p per share, almost a six-fold increase on last year when losses for the second quarter were £8.2m or 7p per share. The loss for this quarter included a £31m write off on inventory costs and job cuts. Nortel accounts for 70 per cent of Bookham's revenue but other important clients, including Lucent and Marconi, have also slashed orders as their sales fall.