Verizon doubles Q4 loss, blames pensions and Hurricane Sandy
updated 10:36 am EST, Tue January 22, 2013
Wireless segment adds 2.2M subscribers
Verizon posted a $4.2 billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2012, doubling its $2 billion loss that was posted in the fourth quarter of 2011, despite increased revenues across the company's divisions. Wireless has continued to drive growth, with 2.1 million new postpaid accounts in Q4 and a 10-percent jump in revenue to $20 billion.
This net loss for the three-month period is said to be primarily attributable to employee pensions and benefits, along with other restructuring charges and a negative impact caused by Hurricane Sandy, though the company highlights non-GAAP adjusted earnings of $0.38 per share. Total revenue from all divisions was up by 5.7 percent to reach $30 billion for the quarter.
Speaking during a follow-up conference call, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo credited LTE buildout and "Share Everything" plans as driving forces behind consistent growth every quarter. The company activated 9.8 million smartphones in Q4, with 6.2 million new iPhones holding the dominant position above Android devices, while tablet shipments doubled.
Verizon Wireless postpaid subscribers now pay an average of $146.80 for their monthly bills, an increase of 6.6 percent, as customers continue to consume more data.
Aside from wireless, the company also added several hundred thousand FiOS subscribers and cited average-revenue-per-user gains of 9.5 percent for its wireline segment, however overall revenue for the division fell slightly to $9.99 billion.
