Windstream disappointed analysts this morning, saying its second quarter net income had declined 12 percent from a year ago to $102 million, and reporting revenues were down 3 percent to $800 million.
The Little Rock, Ark., company also announce it was selling its North Carolina wireless properties to AT&T for $60 million in cash. The sale to AT&T includes about 52,000 wireless customers; spectrum licenses and cell sites covering four counties in North Carolina with a combined population of about 450,000; and six retail locations.
Analysts had expected Windstream to bring home second quarter revenues in the $803 million to $820 million range.
Windstream said it had 37,000 fewer access lines in the second quarter, a 5 percent decline. It now has 3.12 million total lines. It also said it expanded its high-speed Internet customer total by 23,000 in the quarter for a total 934,000 and added 21,000 digital TV customers for a total of 231,000.
Windstream has been getting a lot of press lately as both a target and an initiator of a much-anticipated wave of consolidation in the telecom industry and for the next round of broadband competition. Windstream faces slim VoIP competition from cablecos in its market and has huge potential for broadband growth. The company operates in 16 states.
For more:
- See the Arkansas Business Journal story