The company's mobile and Fios revenue are up significantly
Verizon Communications posted revenue of US$31.1 billion for the fourth quarter of 2013, a 3.4 percent increase from a year earlier, with the gains driven again by mobile and broadband growth.
Verizon on Tuesday reported adjusted income of $5.1 billion for the quarter, compared to a loss of $4.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012. With another $4.2 billion of depreciation and amortization adjustments added to the bottom line, Verizon reported adjusted earnings of $11 billion for the quarter.
The company posted an adjusted earnings per share of $0.66, beating analyst estimates by a penny.
The past year was “great” for Verizon, said Fran Shammo, Verizon’s chief financial officer.
A highlight for the year was an agreement for Verizon to buy Vodafone’s 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless, Shammo said. The deal will give Verizon “sole ownership of the best asset” in the global mobile industry, he said.
Verizon expects the $130 billion deal to close in late February.
As with many recent quarters, growth in Verizon’s mobile and broadband segments drove the numbers up.
Mobile revenue for the fourth quarter of 2013 was $21.1 billion, up 5.7 percent from a year earlier. Verizon Wireless added 1.7 million retail customers during the quarter, bringing its retail customer numbers of 102.8 million.
Mobile income was $6.3 billion for the quarter, up from $4.8 billion a year earlier.
Wireline revenue was $9.8 billion, down from $10 billion for the fourth quarter of 2012. The wireline division posted a net income of $131 million, however, compared to a loss of $326 million a year earlier.
Verizon’s Fios consumer revenue grew 14.9 percent year over year to $2.8 billion. The company added 126,000 Fios broadband customers and 92,000 new Fios TV customers during the quarter. Verizon now has 6.1 million Fios broadband and 5.3 million Fios TV customers.
Verizon’s total broadband customer numbers rose by 20,000 during the quarter, to 9 million, with Fios additions just offsetting DSL losses.
For the full year, Verizon posted revenue of $120.6 billion, up from $115.8 billion for 2012.
Grant Gross covers technology and telecom policy in the U.S. government for The IDG News Service. Follow Grant on Twitter at GrantGross. Grant’s email address is grant_gross@idg.com.
