Telecom equipment maker Nortel Networks Corp , now operating in bankruptcy protection, said on Monday its quarterly loss more than doubled as it booked over $2 billion in noncash writedowns and saw its revenues plunge.

The Toronto-based company said revenue dropped 15 percent to $2.72 billion as demand for the technology Nortel makes continued to weaken.

Analysts expected the company to turn in fourth-quarter revenue of $2.74 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.

For a number of quarters, many of Nortel's big customers -- telecom companies as well as other large corporations -- have either cut or delayed spending.

Nortel said its results included a $1.24 billion goodwill writedown, as well as a writedown of $951 million to reduce its deferred tax asset.

It also booked $97 million in charges related to its restructuring. Last week it announced another 3,200 job cuts around the world.

Nortel filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada and the United States on January 14, blaming the economic crisis for derailing a turnaround effort that began in 2005.

It had about $2.4 billion in cash when it sought court protection from its creditors and about $4.5 billion in long-term debt, according to court documents.

The company's shares are almost worthless, trading unchanged at 10.5 Canadian cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange. In mid-2000, at the height of the company's success, the stock was worth more than C$1,100, adjusted for a share consolidation that took place in late 2006.

($1=$1.29 Canadian)

(Reporting by Wojtek Dabrowski; editing by Peter Galloway)

Canada