AT&T reports revenue and profit growth after transformation

US operator AT&T has reported 3.6 per cent growth in consolidated revenues in 1Q14, claiming the strongest revenue growth the firm has seen in more than two years. The operator also increased its quarterly operating income year on year.

Consolidated revenue for 1Q14 stood at $32.5bn, an increase of over $1bn on the $31.37bn generated in 1Q13. Operating expenses for the quarter were up year on year however, to reach $26.2bn compared with $25.4bn in 1Q13. Operating income still grew however, from $5.9bn in 1Q13 to $6.3bn in 1Q14.

Net income for the quarter remained stable at $3.7bn, impacted by AT&T’s acquisition of Leap Wireless in March. The firm added that it expects to incur approximately $1.2bn of integration costs over the next two years as a result of the acquisition.

“We have been working very deliberately to transform our business, and this quarter you really start to see the benefits,” said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO. “Customers really like the new mobility value proposition and are choosing to move off device subsidies to simpler pricing while at the same time, they are continuing to move to smartphones with larger data plans.”

AT&T added that revenue from its wireless operations grew seven per cent year on year, generating operating income of $5.1bn, up one per cent year on year. It saw postpaid net additions of 625,000, the highest the firm has seen in five years. Total first-quarter wireline revenues stood at $14.6bn, down 0.4 per cent year on year. Meanwhile, wireline operating income was down 10.5 per cent year on year to reach $1.5bn.

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