Jan 25, 2007 10:20 am US/Central
AT&T Q4 Net Profit Rises 17 Percent
Company Attributes Boost To Wireless, Enterprise Sales
SAN ANTONIO (AP) ―
AT&T Inc. said Thursday that fourth quarter earnings rose 17 percent, boosted by growth in wireless subscribers and in its regional wireline businesses.
For the quarter, the nation's largest provider of phone, wireless and broadband Internet services posted net income of $1.94 billion, or 50 cents a share, versus $1.66 billion, or 46 cents share in the prior year's quarter.
Operating revenues reached $15.9 billion, a 23 percent increase from $12.9 billion in the final quarter of the 2005.
The results were the first reported since AT&T completed in December its $86 billion acquisition of BellSouth Corp., the largest telecommunications takeover in U.S. history, and included some costs associated with the merger.
Without the merger costs, the earnings per share would have been 61 cents, surpassing the 59 cents a share predicted by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
In pre-market electronic trading AT&T shares rose 3.9 percent to $38.05.
"Our execution continues to be solid, we closed the year strong, and AT&T has excellent momentum heading into 2007," said Edward E. Whitacre Jr., AT&T chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement.
AT&T also reaffirmed its previous guidance for 2007, saying it expects double-digit growth in earnings per share and growing cash flow.
The new AT&T, which merged the two owners of Cingular Wireless LLC and began rebranding Cingular under the AT&T name earlier this month, had strong growth in its wireless subscribers, adding a net 2.4 million customers. The wireless unit has more than 60 million subscribers.
The wireline segment of the business, which has been declining as customers shift to wireless options, expanded its regional business revenues and its enterprise Internet data services.
For the year, AT&T reported $7.36 billion in net income, or $1.89 per share, a 54 percent increase over the $4.8 billion, or $1.42 per share, earned in the year-ago period. Revenue was $63.1 billion, a 44 percent increase from the $43.8 billion in 2005.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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