Rural phone service provider Alltel reported a first-quarter net income of $213.8 million, or 68 cents a share including one-time items, on revenue of $1.83 billion. That compares to a net income of $395.7 million, or $1.25 a share, on sales of $1.83 billion for the same period last year. Excluding items, the company posted income of 77 cents a share on analysts' consensus estimates of 77 cents as surveyed by First Call.
Alltel said it added 80,250 new wireless subscribers during the quarter, "significantly higher" than its expectations. Wireless revenue increased to $944 million from $919 million in the same quarter last year. The Little Rock, Ark.-based company has made recent deals to expand its reach. Alltel announced in October that it purchased lines from Verizon Communications for $1.91 billion in cash that serve about 600,000 customers.
Discuss: Alltel reports flat sales
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