Storm and Pension Costs Leave Verizon With Bigger Loss

Verizon Communications is still adding plenty of customers and selling a lot of phones, but the impact from Hurricane Sandy and pension costs sank the company’s quarterly earnings.

The company on Tuesday reported a fourth-quarter loss of $4.22 billion, or $1.48 a share, more than double the loss a year ago. Damages from Hurricane Sandy cost 7 cents a share, and pension charges reduced earnings by $1.55 a share, Verizon said. Revenue climbed to $30.05 billion, a 5.7 percent increase compared with a year ago.

Analysts had expected adjusted earnings of 50 cents a share, compared to actual adjusted earnings of 45 cents a share, and revenue of $29.75 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

“Verizon seized growth opportunities in the fourth quarter to cap a year of solid progress across the entire business,” said Lowell McAdam, chief executive of Verizon, in a statement. “We delivered a total return of 13.2 percent to shareholders in 2012, and we enter 2013 ready to accelerate the momentum we’ve achieved and create significant shareholder value in the years to come.”

The company, based in New York, said that its wireless business was growing. Over the quarter, it sold 9.8 million smartphones, compared with 7.7 million in the same quarter a year ago, and added 2.1 million contract subscribers, the most valuable type of customer, versus 1.2 million a year ago. The company said its new shared data plans helped increase the money it made from subscribers; average monthly revenue from each account grew 6.6 percent to $146.80.

Verizon Wireless, the largest American wireless carrier, is leading the race to build out its fourth-generation network, called LTE, which is faster and more efficient than its predecessor. The company has deployed LTE in 476 cities; ATT, the second-biggest American carrier, is in a distant second with 135 cities.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/technology/storm-and-pension-costs-leave-verizon-with-bigger-loss.html?partner=rss&emc=rss