Shentel's wireline revenue remains flat at $3.3M, but fiber leasing grows 13 percent

Shentel (Nasdaq: SHEN) reported that operating revenue for its wireline segment in the third quarter was flat at $3.3 million vs. $3.4 million a year ago. But broadband access and fiber leasing were two bright spots in the telco's wireline and cable segments.

Adjusted OIBDA for the wireline segment rose 2 percent year-over-year to $5.9 million.

The service provider said that service penetration in its wireline ILEC area was 56.3 percent with a total of 34,700 connections. However, access lines declined 1.3 percent year-over-year to 22,506 total lines.

"We continue to have access line losses far below the industry average and consistent broadband penetrations," said Earle MacKenzie, EVP & COO for Shentel, during the earnings call.

In the cable segment, Shentel added 2,066 broadband customers and 762 voice customers, and lost only 138 video customers.

Wireline and cable fiber leasing grew 13 percent sequentially to $5.5 million, up from $5.1 million in Q3 2012. Christopher French, president and CEO of Shentel, said during the earnings call that they "were focused on driving continued growth in this part of our business." 

The third quarter was a time of transition for the rural telco. It realigned its management team into three business lines--wireless, cable and wireline--as a way to sharpen its focus and meet customer needs.

Driven by growth in its wireless and cable segments, Shentel's Q3 net revenues were $77.5 million, up 6 percent compared to $72.9 million for the same period a year ago. Growth in cable segment revenues resulted from an increase in RGU (revenue generating unit) counts, and higher monthly revenue per customer.

Shares of Shentel closed at $23.61, down $4.12, or 14.86 percent at the end of Friday trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

For more:
- see the release
- and the earnings transcript (reg. req.)

Earnings summary: Wireline telecom earnings in the third quarter of 2013

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