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Technology Stocks : Vodafone (VOD) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jack Gibson who wrote (41)	2/4/1999 9:47:00 AM
From: David Wiggins	Respond to of 109

AirTouch profits up 34 percent, beats expectations NEW YORK, Feb 4 (Reuters) - AirTouch Communications Inc. (NYSE:ATI - news), the U.S. wireless phone company set to be acquired by Britain's Vodafone Group Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: VOD.L), on Thursday reported a 34 percent increase in fourth-quarter profits, driven by strong subscriber growth internationally. San Francisco-based AirTouch earned $130 million or 22 cents a share in the fourth quarter, compared with profits of $97 million or 19 cents a share a year ago. The results beat Wall Street's earnings expectations of 18 cents a share, according to First Call, which tracks earnings estimates. Fourth-quarter revenues increased almost 55 percent to $1.5 billion, up from $941 million a year ago. AirTouch added 4.3 million proportionate subscribers, including 2.6 million outside the United States, based on its ownership share in wireless ventures in 13 countries. It added nearly 1.5 million in the fourth quarter alone, bringing its total to 17.6 million proportionate customers. In the intensely competitive U.S. wireless market, subscribers increased more than 18 percent. AirTouch's international operations saw an 83 percent increase in subscribers and a 43 percent increase in revenues. The international gains were driven by the success of AirTouch's prepaid service and the overall growth of the wireless phone market, the company said. While overall subscriber growth is expected to remain strong for the industry, AirTouch said increasing competition in some markets may cause it to see a decline in the rate of customer additions. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------