Alcatel-Lucent showed continued gains from its turnaround efforts in 2015, ahead of its combination with Nokia earlier this year.

“Our Q4 results demonstrate best-in-class execution, enabling us to close the Shift journey with the pride of having accomplished what we had committed do,” said Philippe Camus, chairman and CEO.

In a statement, the company said that the twelve months saw its first full-year profit since 2011 (driven by a strong Q4); free cash flow of €660 million, exceeding its target of being cash flow positive for the year; and debt reduction ahead of its plan, with a net cash position of €1.4 billion compared with a debt of €794 million at the end of Q2 2013.

“I would like to thank all our employees for such an achievement and our customers for their trust,” Camus continued.

The company reported a Q4 profit of €589 million, compared with a prior-year profit of €271 million, on revenue of €4.16 billion, compared with €3.68 billion.

In a statement, it noted improved profitability following cuts and a high level of activity at the end of the year, notably with a higher proportion of software sales.

Segment revenue for its Core Networking business in Q4 2015 increased 14 per cent year-on-year to €2 billion. Revenue for its Access segment was €2.1 billion, up 13 per cent, of which €1.4 billion was from its Wireless line.

Within Wireless, growth was driven by LTE, with notable strength in China and North America.