|
GTE 1Q profit on target
|
 |
April 22, 1999: 9:14 a.m. ET
Earnings of 74 cents a share match estimates; growth in phone lines cited
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - GTE Corp. said Thursday that first-quarter profit matched Wall Street forecasts and it cut 3,000 jobs in the quarter after setting plans for an unspecified number of job cuts early in 1999.
The cuts equal about 3 percent of GTE's work force of 98,000 at the end of 1998, which was up from 94,000 a year earlier, a spokeswoman said.
The nation's third-largest regional phone company said it earned $723 million, or 74 cents a diluted share, in the quarter, up from $624 million, or 65 cents a share, a year earlier. The results, which exclude one-time gains and losses, matched forecasts of 74 cents a share, according to First Call, which tracks analysts' estimates.
Including one-time gains and losses from restructuring, accounting changes and other items, GTE had net income of $882 million, or 90 cents a diluted share, in the quarter, compared with a loss of $178 million, or 18 cents a share, a year earlier.
Revenues grew to $5.9 billion from $5.5 billion, which was adjusted for accounting changes.
GTE said it cut 3,000 jobs in the quarter after announcing an unspecified number of job cuts in January in a bid to save $600 million a year. A spokeswoman said most of the jobs cut would be in the United States. GTE took a charge of $119 million, or 12 cents a share, in the latest quarter for severance costs.
GTE said it added 2.1 million new phone lines for customers during the quarter, a rise of 10 percent, while the number of minutes used by callers grew 9 percent. The company also cited strength in its long-distance and wireless businesses.
GTE recently asked federal regulators to delay considering its planned $53 billion merger with Bell Atlantic (BEL) until the companies work out a way to meet long-distance rules.
GTE stock rose 7/8 to 66-7/8 Wednesday. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
GTE
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
 |
|
