"We at Alvarion do not yet feel that the crisis is behind us, but we see the light at the end of the tunnel, and hope that it isn't an onrushing train," said WiMAX developer Alvarion Ltd. (Nasdaq: ALVR; TASE: ALVR) president and CEO Eran Gorev at the Oppenheimer annual conference in Tel Aviv.
Gorev said that LTE appeared to be the winner over WiMAX technology. "There are already more than 560 WiMAX networks worldwide, far more than the 3G networks. The problem is that they are most small networks in thinly populated areas and with few subscribers. It will take time for LTE to deploy many networks, and this is WiMAX's opportunity. LTE will come, and it will be important, but there is no doubt that WiMAX will continue to grow."
As for competition from China's ZTE Corp. (HKSE: 0763; Shenchen: 0063), Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Gorev said, "ZTE and Huawei are huge companies, backed by the Chinese government, and they're trying to take over the global telecommunications work. The Chinese are very aggressive, offering customers nearly full financing and postponing payment for years. It's almost unfair competition. It isn't that I expect the Israeli government to act like the Chinese government, but it does not even take minimal measures to encourage the industry."
Gorev discussed development and the company's streamlining measures, which include firing 20% of its global workforce. "Alvarion has not generated cash or profits for years. It's my duty as CEO to bring the company to growth and profits," he said. "It is important to me that our employees, customers, partners, and investors are satisfied. Sometimes, one of these comes at the expense of another, because this is a very delicate equation involving the management of many variables."
Gorev said that Alvarion sees opportunities in the current market conditions, although he cautioned that it is not clear when, and in all honesty, if the opportunities would materialize. As for the layoffs, he said, "This wasn’t my goal when I took over, but I made my decision because I saw that it was necessary to strengthen the profit and loss statement and invest in future growth engines."
Alvarion's share price fell 0.8% at the opening on Nasdaq today to $.248, givng a market cap of $155 million. The share price rose 0.4% on the TASE today to NIS 9.44.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 17, 2010
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