Frontier: Customer decreases, Verizon integration take toll on Q3 results

Frontier Communications (NYSE: FTR) reported that Q3 net income was $20.4 million or $0.02 per share, down from $29.0 million in Q3 2010, a factor it attributes to the result of reduced operating income, partially offset by the benefit of lower income taxes.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the telco to report earnings of $0.06 per share.

Here's a breakout of the company's key metrics:

  • Landline loss: As of the end of September, 2011, Frontier had 3,174,900 residential customers and 319,400 business customers. Access lines declined from 5.4 million in Q2 to 5.3 million in Q3.
  • Broadband services: During the quarter, the telco managed to add 16,200 new subscribers, while losing 3,100 FiOS data customers. It ended the quarter with 1.7 million total broadband subscribers.
  • Video: The company added 2,300 new video customers during the third quarter of 2011, a figure that includes 12,200 net additions of satellite TV customers and a net loss of 9,900 FiOS video customers. Frontier had a total of 556,600 video customers as of the end of September.

Third quarter revenue also declined to $1.29 billion, down from $1.40 billion in 2010, slightly missing Wall Street's expectations of $1.30 billion in revenues.

The revenue decline was largely a result of a decrease in the number of residential and business customers, switched access, video and directory revenue.

For more:
- see the release
- here's FierceCable's take

Earnings summary: Wireline in the third quarter 2011

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