Paris: The price of shares in telecommunications company Equant rose by 6.26 per cent to 40.40 euros in initial trading on Tuesday after the company had reported a near halving of losses in the second quarter. Equant, formed of telecommunications facilities owned by airlines, said that it had reduced net losses in the second quarter to 5.3 million dollars (5.7 million euros) from $9.8 million in the same period a year ago.Sales in the quarter rose by 47.3 per cent to 343.8 million dollars. The price of the shares had risen strongly on Monday, before publication of the results, on press reports that British telecommunications group Cable and Wireless might offer about $10 billion for Equant which provides services to multinational companies.
Equant stock had closed on Monday with a net gain of 0.72 per cent to 38.02 euros, having reached 39.90 euros during trading. Alstom slump further 4.76%The price of shares in Alstom fell by 4.76 per cent to 25.20 euros in initial trading on Tuesday in response to a costs warning which had depressed the stock by 14.92 percent on Monday.
Alstom, which makes power-generation equipment, had warned that it had encountered faults on some turbines which were likely to result in significant extra costs. AFP
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