Citing continued pressure on wholesale revenues and higher employee costs, CenturyLink reported Q2 2015 revenue of $4.42 billion compared to $4.54 billion in second quarter 2014. Net income (GAAP) for second quarter 2015 was $143 million compared to a net income of $193 million for second quarter 2014, and diluted earnings per share was $0.26 for second quarter 2015 compared to $0.34 for second quarter 2014.
"CenturyLink's results for the second quarter were below our forecast and Street consensus, primarily due to continued pressure on wholesale revenues and higher employee and benefit costs," said Glen F. Post III, chief executive officer and president. "While we are disappointed with the financial results for this quarter, we are positioning CenturyLink to drive stronger sales, strategic revenue growth and improved operating cash flow in the months ahead."
Some operational highlights:
- Achieved core revenues of $4.02 billion in second quarter 2015; revenue from high-bandwidth data services provided to business customers, including MPLS3, Ethernet and Wavelength, grew more than 10% year-over-year.
- Generated free cash flow of $562 million, excluding special items.
- Added approximately 8,400 CenturyLink® PrismTM TV customers during second quarter 2015, ending the period with approximately 258,000 customers.
- Ended the quarter with more than 6.1 million high-speed Internet customers, a decrease of approximately 9,200 customers in second quarter 2015 due to typical seasonality.
- Purchased and retired an additional 2.5 million shares of CenturyLink common stock for nearly $90 million during second quarter 2015.
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