SBC Communications Profits Rise
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, Jul 25, 2001 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- SBC Communications Inc. said Wednesday that second-quarter profits rose 11.9
percent, beating Wall Street expectations with help from growth in wireless, long-distance and data services.
The onetime Bell System phone company said it earned $2.07 billion, or 61 cents per share, in the April-June period, up from $1.85 billion, or 54
cents per share, a year ago.
That topped the expectation of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call, who had a consensus estimate of 57 cents per share.
In morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, SBC shares rose 3.1 percent, or $1.27 a share, to $42.07.
Revenue rose 3 percent to $13.59 billion from $13.19 billion, including SBC's 60 percent share of the Cingular wireless phone joint venture with
BellSouth Corp.
SBC said it remains "cautious about the rest of the year, especially because of uncertainty about the U.S. economy.
SBC said it expects modest revenue growth and continues to estimate full-year operating earnings in the range of $2.35 to $2.40 per share.
The San Antonio-based company said revenue from data services rose 28 percent to $2.2 billion, Cingular's customer count grew about 3 percent and
long-distance customers jumped 27 percent over the first quarter.
In the first six months of the year, SBC earned $3.9 billion, or $1.15 a share, up from $3.7 billion, or $1.07 a share, a year ago. Revenue was
$26.73 billion, up from $25.75 billion a year ago. |
