Telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent announced the appointment of former Vodafone executive Michel Combes as its new chief executive today.

Mr Combes replaces Ben Verwaayen, who announced earlier this month he was leaving after Alcatel made a net loss of €1.37 billion in 2012, hit by lower sales in Europe and China and a writedown of its wireless and optics businesses.

Mr Verwaayen, whose mandate was due to end in May, had said the company needed a new leader to complete its turnaround.

Alcatel has been impacted by the rise of low-cost Chinese competitors and trails market leaders Sweden's Ericsson and China's Huawei in size and market share in mobile gear.

Since it was formed in a merger in 2006, the group has gone through two chief executives and not been able to reach sustainable profitability or cash flows despite cost-cutting and paring its product portfolio.

Mr Combes left his role as European head of Vodafone in October 2012 and is a well known figure in the telecoms industry with more than 20 years of experience.

He had been named to take over as chief executive of Vivendi's SFR, France's second-biggest mobile operator last year, but the appointment was aborted after a management shake-up at the parent company.

Reuters