Colt to axe 500, put data centres on ice

NEWS Colt Telecom has continued the bad news coming from the UK telecoms sector with an announcement that despite seeing revenue grow 32 per cent last year it will cut 500 jobs. Yesterday, rival Energis saw its share price wither by 70 per cent and it is thought that also affected Colt's standing. Its stock fell 18 per cent. Colt said orders from other telcos across Europe has slackened in the three months to 31 December 2001. It will now also make savings by mothballing seven data centres. Revenues for the last calendar quarter of 2001 were £241m, while for the year they reached £906m, up from £687m the previous year. However, Colt reported a pre-tax loss of £360m for 2001 compared to a loss of £117m for 2000.