Alcatel 'On Track,' But Not 'Complacent': CEO

French telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent said on Thursday it had returned to profit in the second quarter of 2011 and that it was on course to meet its 2011 guidance on margin.

But sales and operating profit nevertheless fell short of analysts' expectations, causing the stock to tumble.

Ben Verwaayen, CEO of Alcatel-Lucent remained upbeat.

"We are on track," he told CNBC.

The telecom gear maker confirmed its full-year guidance. Alcatel is aiming to grow faster than its market with an operating margin above 5 percent of 2011 sales.

"Our business is all about innovation. I think we have a very focused approach to the market, and we see that we're on track to deliver our forecast for this year," Verwaayen said.

"People (do) not just use their cell phones to do voice, but they (use them for) everything," he added. "The journey from voice to video… is happening massively. If you look to the downloads on the Apple, on the Androids and etc. It is there."

He said the U.S. had reacted with a very aggressive build-out of the latest technology.

"Not just in the wireless space, but also in the IP space and the optical space… right in the middle of where we are," Verwaayen said.

He added that the group had "a pretty good insight of where the market is going on, and what it's doing" despite macroeconomic challenges ahead.

"These (macroeconomic elements) are capital in terms of projects that you run over a somewhat longer period, but being complacent would be completely different and utterly wrong," he said.