ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 24, 1996 TAG: 9601240027
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
Bell Atlantic Corp., Philadelphia-based local telephone service provider, on Tuesday reported it earned $391.9 million, or 89 cents per share, in the quarter that ended Dec. 31. A year ago, it earned $314.9 million, or 72 cents per share.
Revenue was $3.15 billion, down from $3.49 billion a year ago, reflecting the removal of Bell Atlantic's cellular operation into the venture with Nynex.
Profit in the latest quarter was diminished by a one-time debt-refinancing charge of $3.5 million, or 1 cent per share.
The company reported it served 19.8 million telephone access lines at the end of the year, a 3.4 percent increase from a year earlier. Minutes of phone use increased nearly 8 percent for the year.
Some 3,100 Bell Atlantic Network employees were laid off or took buyouts during 1995, accounting for only a small rise in network operating expenses. Bell Atlantic's overall operating expenses dropped to $2.46 billion in 1995 from $2.81 billion the previous year.
For the year, the company earned $1.86 billion, or $4.24 per share. That's compared with a loss of $754.8 million, or $1.73 per share, in 1994 when it had a $2.1 billion charge for changing accounting practices to those of a competitive company.
Annual revenue was $13.4 billion, down from $13.8 billion in 1994.
In a separate report, Bell Atlantic and its New York-based counterpart, Nynex Corp., said their joint cellular operation gained 383,000 customers in the quarter, finishing the year with 3.4 million, up 43 percent from the end of 1994 if they had been combined then.
Revenue was $1.66 billion, up 31 percent from $1.26 billion in 1994. Operating income was $406.1 million, up from $152.9 million in 1994.
- Staff report
LENGTH: Short : 40 linesby CNB