Consolidated's Q4 revenue rises to $160.1M on strong broadband, video results

Consolidated Communications (Nasdaq: CNSL) reported on Thursday that Q4 revenue was $160.1 million, up 1.8 percent year-over-year with a gain in both broadband and video services subscribers.

For the year 2012, the telco reported revenues of $503.5 million, compared to $374.3 million in 2011.  

As seen in previous quarters, the increase in data, video and wireless backhaul revenues offset ongoing declines in legacy voice services.

Traditional ILEC access lines declined 4.3 percent, or 12,111, to 268,597. However, Consolidated's overall data connections rose 4.7 percent, or by 11,079, to 247,633, while video connections grew 5.3 percent, or 5,384, to 106,137 subscribers.

During the quarter the company also increased its marketable fiber, HFC and copper homes in its six-state territory. It added 2,220 fiber and 146 HFC marketable homes, while copper-based homes remained flat at 399,547.

Bob Currey, CEO of Consolidated Communications, said in the earnings release that the company "continued to diversify our revenues with 74 percent now coming from the business and broadband growth areas."

The service provider also made progress in integrating its newest acquisition, SureWest, into its fold. It has completed the first phase of billing incorporation and has integrated all of the corporate ERP systems, including finance, human resources, payroll and supply chain management.

Although SureWest had gained a strong reputation in the consumer segment, Consolidated plans to leverage the company's copper, fiber and HFC assets in California, Kansas and Missouri to expand the reach of its business services, particularly Ethernet. This quarter it plans to extend its Ethernet over Copper (EoC) service in SureWest's Roseville and Sacramento, Calif., areas, for example.

Bob Udell, COO of Consolidated Communications, said in a previous interview with FierceTelecom that EoC "gives us a platform to allow small businesses in the sub-$1,000 a month range in spending to integrate voice and data over the same broadband connection."

Looking forward, the company has forecast cash interest expense between $80 to $85 million and capital expenditures of $100 to $110 million.

Shares of Consolidated were listed at $16.92, up 20 cents, or 1.20 percent, in morning trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

For more:
- see the earnings release

Earnings roundup: Wireline telecom earnings in the fourth quarter of 2012

On the Hot Seat: Consolidated's Udell outlines SureWest integration, discusses broadband strategy

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