BellSouth reported Q2 revenue of $5.1 billion, equal to revenue for the same quarter of the previous year. Overall income from continuing operations was $939 million compared to $908 million in the same quarter a year ago. Earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations was 51 cents, a 4.1% increase over the same period last year — exceeding market estimates. However, overall access line losses outpaced gains in DSL.
Some highlights from the quarter:
- Operating free cash flow from continuing operations was $1.3 billion.
- Capital expenditures for continuing operations were $731 million compared to $677 million in the same period in 2003.
- Long distance and DSL contributed to the slight increase in Communications Group revenue for the quarter.
- BellSouth added 535,000 mass-market long distance customers during Q2, giving it a total of 5.1 million LD customers — about a 40% penetration of its mass-market base.
- Data revenue was $1.1 billion, up 4.8% compared to the same quarter of 2003, driven by DSL and wholesale improvements.
- BellSouth added 120,000 net DSL customers during Q2, giving it a total of 1.7 million DSL customers
- Total access lines of 21.8 million at June 30 declined 3.7 percent compared to a year earlier. Residence and business access lines served by BellSouth competitors under UNE-P increased by 216,000 in Q2.
- Cingular Wireless added 428,000 net cellular/PCS customers, giving it a nationwide customer base of 25 million.
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