CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) got a boost from its broadband and Prism TV IPTV services even as it reported a decline in profit for the second quarter as legacy wireline business continued to decline.
The telco cited a revenue increase of 4.7 percent in the quarter, to $4.6 billion, compared to $4.4 billion the previous year but a drop in net income, from $74 million or 12 cents per share, versus $115 million or 19 centers per share during the same period a year ago.
The carrier blamed much of the loss on a decline in traditional landline phone users who, it said, are signing up for high-speed broadband and Prism TV.
The broadband business, apparently, is where the company wants to be since it "experienced continued broadband and Prism TV subscriber growth … in spite of typical lower seasonal demand, while continue to improve retention as our annual access line rate of decline slowed to 6.1 percent from 7.4 percent in the pro forma year-ago period," President-CEO Glen Post said in an earnings news release.
The company said that it added more than 18,000 high-speed Internet customers and end the quarter with 5.76 million customers. Without giving specific figures, it also noted in the news release that its Prism TV subscriber base grew by 11 percent from the first quarter and that penetration of available homes is more than 9 percent.
"As we enter the second half of 2012 we remain focused on investing in broadband expansion and enhancement, Prism TV, fiber-to-the-tower and managed hosting and cloud computing services in order to maximize opportunities for future revenue growth," Post said in the news release.
The company's stock apparently wasn't badly shaken by the late evening news. It opened this morning up 44 cents at $42.44.
For more:
- see this release
- and this stock report
Special Report: IPTV earnings in the second quarter of 2012
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