Alcatel-Lucent defends outgoing CEO’s payout

“Altice’s long term strategy and global ambitions are the right challenge for me in this dynamic era of consolidation, convergence and technological disruption”, said Combes. “As Philippe Camus often says – all European champions can’t be French”, Alcatel Chief Executive Officer Michel Combes said Wednesday at a press conference in Paris.

“We need to continue to structure and industrialise the operation of the group”, he said when he was asked if Altice, controlled by billionaire Patrick Drahi, will continue its initiative for acquisition.

But the company recently failed to engineer a takeover of Bouygues Telecom, France’s third-biggest mobile operator, which rejected its offer after deciding it could deliver more value to shareholders as a standalone business.

The measurement of any such bonus “is all the time political at a time once we are rising from what’s a troublesome disaster for lots of French individuals”.

“There was certainly an improvement in the financial performance but it wasn’t spectacular”, he said, adding that he hoped Combes would renounce all or part of the shares due him.

The equipment maker’s net loss narrowed to just €54 million ($61 million) in the quarter, from €298 million ($336 million) in the year-earlier period. In the country, unemployment is stuck at around 10% and the economy is slow.

Dubbed the company’s last deal before the merger, Alcatel-Lucent signed two separate agreements in July with China Mobile and China Unicom, that will see networking upgrades for the telecommunications providers at a combined cost of 8.12 billion yuan.

Alcatel-Lucent’s board hailed Combes’ contribution to the group, implementing a strategy that saved Alcatel from bankruptcy and allowed Alcatel-Lucent to increase its value sixfold.

Alcatel maintains that the payout is not in any way linked to his departure but the success he has brought prior to merging with Nokia.

The French-based company only has a few months left before it ceases trading as Alcatel-Lucent and instead takes on its new moniker, Nokia Corporation.

Government figures are reported to have expressed disappointment that executives are receiving huge rewards when conditions remain tough for most other individuals.