Earnings Roundup: BellSouth, Broadwing, Sportsline
BellSouth Corp. (NYSE: BLS) reported third quarter earnings of 55 cents a share Thursday, including a two-cent reduction related to its newly acquired wireless properties in Colombia.
First Call was expecting a profit of 56 cents a share.
Third quarter earnings increased 10 percent compared to 50 cents before special items in the third quarter of 1999.
Consolidated revenues were $6.9 billion, a gain of 7.5 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. Strong growth in data revenues represented more than 40 percent of consolidated revenue growth as BellSouth continued to shift to digital broadband services and e-commerce applications for business customers. BellSouth's DSL customer base also increased more than 80 percent during the third quarter.
Shares in the communications services company closed up 0.75 to 41.81 Wednesday.
Among other earnings Thursday:
Revenues increased 25 percent, growing to $531 million. All results are on a pro forma basis as if the acquisition of IXC Communications had occurred at the beginning of 1999.
Shares in the broadband and wireless services company closed down 0.81 to 22.94 Wednesday.
The company also said it recorded a non-cash charge of $114.3 million to write down many of its Internet investments to their estimated fair market value, as they have been adversely affected by the market downturn. Including this non-recurring charge, consolidated net loss for the quarter ended was a whopping $130.5 million, or $4.94 per share.
Pro forma consolidated net loss for the third quarter was $16.3 million, or 62 cents per share, slightly less than the loss of $16.0 million, or 69 cents per share, in the same period last year. Pro forma EBITDA loss for the quarter was $1.5 million, an 81 percent improvement from the loss of $8.2 million in the third quarter of 1999. Consolidated pro forma EBITDA loss for the quarter was $9.0 million.
Consolidated revenue increased 132 percent to $26.7 million in the third quarter of 2000, compared to $11.5 million in the same quarter of 1999. The company ended the quarter with cash and short-term marketable securities of $142 million.
Results exclude the impact of the e-commerce business sold to MVP.com as of January 2000, as if the sale had occurred on January 1, 1999, and the write down during the third quarter of the Company's Internet investments.
Shares in the Internet sports media company closed down 0.19 to 8 Wednesday.
"Despite the significant non-cash charge we are taking to reflect the effect of market conditions on our Internet investments, we are in a strong financial position, with more than enough cash to carry us through to achieve our objectives,'' CEO Michael Levy said in a release.