Canadian vendor Nortel, currently sheltering in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday reported that its first quarter net loss grew to $507m in 2009, compared to a loss of $138m in 2008.

Revenues also dropped 37 per cent year on year to $1.73bn in the first quarter, although the beleaguered company still managed to increase its cash pile, which rose to $2.48bn, from $2.4bn in the first quarter of 2008.

Nortel president and CEO Mike Zafirovski said: “First quarter results showed a decline in revenue and margins as expected due to the severe economic downturn and our filings for creditor protection. However, despite the declines we saw this quarter, revenue has stabilized and our cash balance is stable from year-end 2008.”

Nortel said it continues to evaluate its various business units, including Carrier Networks, Metro Ethernet Networks, Enterprise Solutions and the LG-Nortel joint-venture, and is looking to complete the move to standalone businesses. The company will also decentralise its Carrier Sales and Global Operations functions over the coming weeks.