BellSouth reported Q3 consolidated revenue from continuing operations of $5.1 billion and income from continuing operations of $852 million, compared to $894 million in the same quarter a year ago. Earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations were 46 cents compared to 48 cents in the third quarter of 2003. Normalized EPS was 49 cents in the third quarter of 2004 compared to 50 cents in the same quarter a year ago. Some highlights:
- total access lines of 21.6 million declined 3.9 percent compared to a year earlier. UNE-P access lines resold by BellSouth competitors decreased by 54,000 in the third quarter compared to an increase of 188,000 in the same quarter a year ago.
- added 134,000 net DSL customers during the third quarter of 2004, for a total of approximately 1.9 million at quarter-end.
- data revenue was $1.1 billion, an increase of 3.7 percent compared to the same quarter of 2003, driven by DSL.
- added 532,000 mass-market long distance customers, ending Q3 with approximately 5.7 million customers.
- 90,000 customers have signed up for BellSouth’s DIRECTV bundled offer.
- Cingular Wireless added 657,000 net cellular/PCS customers, bringing its nationwide customer base to 25.7 million. More than 80 percent of net additions were postpaid. Churn remained flat year-over-year at 2.8 percent.
- Cingular’s proposed purchase of AT&T Wireless is on track. BellSouth’s portion of the acquisition funding is approximately $14.5 billion, which will be funded with cash on hand, proceeds from asset sales and incremental debt.
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