New York: Verizon Communications Inc. said on Monday its third-quarter profit skidded almost 30 percent as higher operating costs offset an increase in revenue that was driven by its wireless business.
The nation's second biggest phone company earned USD 1.18 billion, or 41 cents per share, in the quarter compared with USD 1.67 billion, or 59 cents per share, a year ago.
Excluding one-time items, Verizon said it earned 60 cents per share — a penny above the average estimate of analysts surveyed by a news agency.
Revenue rose 10 percent to USD 27.3 billion from USD 24.75 billion a year ago, largely due to its January acquisition of Alltel Corp. If Alltel's results were included in last year's third-quarter, Verizon, which is based in New York, said revenue would have risen by 0.6 percent.
The revenue figure was just above the USD 27.2 billion analysts expected.
Its shares slipped 30 cents to USD 28.55 in premarket trading.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, October 26, 2009, 18:12