Verizon Communications Quarterly Profit Up 5.3%

Verizon Communications has reported that its first-quarter revenues jumped 11.6 percent to US$26.6 billion, compared with the first quarter 2008 - largely thanks to the acquisition of Alltel earlier this year. Excluding the Alltel boost, revenues would have grown by 3.3 percent.

The company posted net income of US$3.21 billion, up by 5.3% from the US$3.05 billion a year ago.

Cash flows from operations totaled US$6.4 billion for the first three months of 2009, up US$1 billion, or 19.1 percent, over the same period last year. Capital expenditures totaled US$3.7 billion in the first quarter 2009, and free cash flow (cash flows from operations minus capital expenditures) totaled US$2.7 billion, up US$1.5 billion from the first quarter 2008.

Verizon Wireless' retail (non-wholesale) gross customer additions (excluding customers acquired in the Alltel acquisition) were strong, up 32.5 percent over the prior year. On a pro forma basis, retail gross customer additions were up 4.3 percent.

Verizon Wireless had 86.6 million customers at the end of the quarter, an increase of 28.8 percent year over year. This includes 13.2 million net total customer additions, after conforming adjustments, from the Alltel acquisition.

Service ARPU decreased 0.3 percent from the similar period a year ago, to US $50.74 . Total data ARPU grew by 20.8 percent to US $14.16 . On a pro forma basis, service ARPU increased 1.1 percent, and total data ARPU increased 25.2 percent.

Posted to the site on 27th April 2009