Lumos Networks (Nasdaq: LMOS) reported its first-quarter 2012 revenue rose slightly to $51.4 million, up from $51.1 million in Q4 2011, but down year-over-year, from $52.6 million, as competitive wholesale and data products offset declines in legacy voice revenues.
Data and wholesale product revenue in the ILEC's competitive segment rose 16 percent over Q1 2011, a trend it said helped them to slightly exceed the high ends of its Q1 revenue and adjusted EBITDA forecasts.
In the wholesale segment, the main focus is on expanding its Fiber to the Tower (FTTT) footprint to serve wireless operators that provide service in its region. At the end of March 2012, the ILEC had connected its fiber to 155 cell sites and plans to more than double those connections by the end of this year.
FTTT connectivity was a major driver of wholesale data revenue, which rose 29 percent year-over-year from Q1 2011.
The Waynesboro, Va.-based service provider was no less aggressive in expanding its fiber connections to support enterprise customers in both existing and new markets. During the quarter, it expanded its on-net fiber connections to 1,066, up from 1,051 as of the end of the 2011.
The competitive segment, which makes up almost two-thirds of data revenue, contributed 76 percent of consolidated revenue in Q1 versus 73 percent in the same period a year ago.
For the year 2012, Lumos has maintained its annual guidance of total revenue of between $200 to $205 million, with adjusted EBITDA expected to be between $85 million and $90 million and capital expenditures expected to be between $52 million and $60 million.
In the near-term, Lumos has forecasted Q2 2012 revenues will be between $50 million and $51 million and adjusted EBITDA to be between $21 million and $22 million.
Lumos Network shares closed Friday at $9.16, up 35 cents, or 3.97 percent, in late-day trading.
For more:
- see the earnings release
Special Report: Wireline in the first quarter of 2012
Related articles:
Lumos Networks gets into the colocation/data center game
Lumos Networks names Timothy Blitz as CEO
The 15 highest-paid CEOs in wireline
Lumos Networks sees data revenues climb to $8.9M in Q4 2011