Qwest reported today that its first-quarter profit more than doubled to $240 million, or 12 cents a share, fueled largely by cost cuts as revenue remained relatively flat.
The company posted a profit of $88 million, or 5 cents a share, during the same quarter last year.
Twenty one analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected Qwest to earn 9 cents a share.
The company’s revenue dropped 0.9 percent to $3.446 billion from $3.476 billion during the first quarter of 2006. The company’s operating expenses dropped 6.2 percent.
“I think it was a solid performance,” Qwest chief executive Dick Notebaert told The Denver Post in an interview today. “It really points to the fact that the opportunities are there for Qwest, and I think those that questioned our ability to attain certain margins and profitability – we were able to do what we said we would do.”
The company has posted five straight quarterly profits.
Growth in high-speed Internet and video subscribers continues to help the company offset losses in traditional wireline customers. The company added 167,000 new Digital Subscriber Line Internet customers during the quarter. It had a net add of 80,000 customers to its satellite-TV service, which Qwest resells through a partnership with DirecTV.
The company’s access lines dropped 6.8 percent during the quarter.
“Overall, we think results looked good,” JP Morgan analyst Jonathan Chaplin wrote in a research note today.
The company’s revenue, however, missed Chaplin’s target of $3.5 billion.
Staff writer Andy Vuong can be reached at 303-954-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com.
