- GE, Vivendi Agree to Value NBCU Stake at $5.8 Billion
- Cutting Jobless Will Take Time: White House's Summers
- White House to Crank Up Pressure on Mortgage Industry
- Treasury Threatens Banks, Not Borrowers
- Dubai World to Restructure About $26 Billion of Debt
- Cramer: Dubai Can’t Sink These 6 Dividend Stocks
- Good Sign for the Economy: 'Greed' Makes a Comeback
- Bove: 26 Banks May Need To Raise More Capital
- The World's Biggest Debtor Nations
- Treasury Threatens Banks, Not Borrowers
- We're Approaching a Market Bubble: Portfolio Manager
- Hershey Shares: What Options Are Saying
- Nov. 30: Unusual Volume Leaders
- Why Careful Shoppers Are Great for the Box Office
- Blue Nile CEO: 'We're Having the Best Cyber Monday Ever'
- Best Online Retailers to Buy Now: Internet Analyst
- ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue: A Financial Success
- Cyber Monday: The Last Vestige of Dotcom Hype
MOST SHARED
- Timeless and Time-Tested Warren Buffett Watch Predictions
- Goldman Sachs Party Ban: No Gatherings of 12 or More
- Should Homeowners Be Able To Walk Away From Mortgage?
- Dubai World Set to Restructure About $26 Billion of Total Debt
- Nov. 30: Unusual Volume Leaders
- Bove: 26 Banks May Need To Raise More Capital
- Notre Dame Fires Charlie Weis After 5 Seasons
- Blue Nile CEO: 'We're Having the Best Cyber Monday Ever'
- Treasury Threatens Banks, Not Borrowers
- Oil Demand Sees Year-Over-Year Rise, First Since 2007
Text Size 
 |
Toby Jorrin / AP AT&T's corporate offices in San Antonio. The company posted a higher quarterly profit during the first quarter. |
First-quarter profit rose to $2.8 billion, or 45 cents a share, from $1.4 billion, or 37 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter, before it bought BellSouth. Total operating revenue rose to $28.97 billion from $15.76 billion, also excluding BellSouth in the year-ago quarter.
AT&T [T
Loading...
()
] said adjusted earnings per share, excluding merger related costs and other items, were 65 cents compared with analyst estimates for 61 cents a share according to Reuters Estimates.
It said it was raising its estimate for a full year adjusted operating income margin to a 23% to 24% range, up from a 21% to 23% target announced in January.
While the company's wireless unit -- which is scrapping the Cingular Wireless name for the AT&T brand -- added fewer subscribers than some analysts had expected, AT&T said its wireless profit margin improved from a year ago.
Richard Lindner, AT&T’s chief financial officer, told CNBC that as wireless penetration continues, customer growth will slow. “But,” the CFO said, “what we’re seeing is (wireless) data revenue-growth accelerating –- and that’s what’s driving revenue per customer, and double-digit service revenues.”
Lindner said momentum in data will “absolutely” offset the slowing rate of growth in voice.
AT&T said its wireless unit added 1.2 million in the quarter compared with average estimates for 1.5 million from six analysts contacted by Reuters.
AT&T said its wireless operating profit margin was 15.2%, up from 9% in the year ago quarter.
The company, which is developing video services in an effort to compete better with cable rivals, said it added 187,000 video customers in the first quarter, up from 111,000 net additions in the preceding quarter. It ended the quarter with 1.7 million video connections.
AT&T said it plans to complete its $10 billion share repurchase plan in the third quarter this year, subject to market conditions.
The company's shares have risen about 11% since the deal compared with the about 5% increase in the S&P 500 Index.
Print
Email
- Ever wished your cab driver would stop chatting and just get to where you're going? Well, that moment is closer than ever.
- UPS is giving its customers the option to offset its carbon emissions when sending a package.
- Romania's presidential campaign has been rocked by a video that may show the president striking a 10-year-old boy.
- Raising alligators is hard work, and the fickle taste of rich consumers has just made it much harder, says the NY Times.
- A recent issue of ESPN Magazine was one of its top sellers ever, and it only took scantily clad athletes to make it happen.
- The continued real estate boom in China is partially fueled by a generational flood of newlyweds.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes