GTE Profits Rise 16 Percent
IRVING, Texas (AP) - GTE Corp (NYSE:GTE - news). reported Thursday its third-quarter
profit rose 16 percent, helped by strong sales of Internet and data services.
The telecommunications company said it earned $952 million, or 97 cents a share, compared
with $822 million, or 85 cents a share, in the same period a year ago.
GTE, which is being acquired by Bell Atlantic Corp (NYSE:BEL - news)., beat the
95-cents-per-share estimate of analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial.
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Bell Atlantic, set to buy GTE Corp (NYSE:GTE - news). in a $53 billion merger, said a
10-percent rise in third-quarter profits was underpinned by strong growth in its data and
wireless services and demand for such features as call waiting.
Third-quarter revenues for Bell Atlantic, the dominant local phone company in 13 states from
Maine to Virginia, increased 5 percent to $8.3 billion.
Third-quarter profits rose 10 percent to $1.2 billion, or 76 cents a share. The results, which
excluded one-time items, met Wall Street expectations of 76 cents a share, according to
research firm First Call/Thomson Financial.
Chief Financial Officer Fred Salerno said the company could meet its goal of a five-percent
revenue increase for the year with growth of 6.2 percent in the fourth quarter. Growth in the
first two quarters was below the year's target.
``While some people consider this ambitious, we believe it's achievable,' he said in a telephone
conference call.
Salerno added that Bell Atlantic was still on track to meet the company's goal of 10-12 percent
growth in earnings per share this year.
Bell Atlantic shares were up 19 cents to $64.125.
1.22 X 64.125=78.23 as of then |
