(Telecompaper) Alcatel-Lucent reported second-quarter revenues up 5 percent year-on-year to EUR 3.45 billion. The figure was helped by exchange rate effects, as excluding forex, revenues fell 9 percent from a year ago. Revenues from its core networking business rose 10 percent at constant exchange rates, to EUR 1.68 billion, while revenues from the Access business fell 20 percent to EUR 1.77 billion. The company improved operating profit to EUR 175 million from EUR 139 million a year ago, raising the margin 1 percent point to 5.1 percent. The net loss also narrowed, to EUR 54 million from EUR 298 million, and free cash flow moved to a positive EUR 65 million from a negative EUR 205 million in Q2 2014. CEO Michel Combes said the results showed good resilience in spite of soft spending by operators, especially in North America. This was the first time the company had positive free cash flow in a second quarter since the merger of Alcatel and Lucent in 2006, showing the effects of the 'Shift Plan' paying off, according to the CEO. Cost savings from the plan have reached EUR 746 million to date.