Verizon Posts Loss On Pension, Severance Costs--2nd Update

By Chelsey Dulaney 

Verizon Communications Inc. posted a heavy loss in its fourth quarter on pension and severance costs, though strength in tablets were again a driver of growth for the company.

Excluding one-time items, Verizon's earnings were in-line with Wall Street expectations. Shares, though, fell less than 1% in premarket trading as Verizon also forecast a pension-funding requirement of $700 million for the 2015 year.

Verizon is the first telecom company to report results for the fourth quarter, which analysts have said will be challenging for the industry because of a holiday season of aggressive price promotions.

Verizon has leaned heavily on tablets for wireless subscriber growth. The carrier has pushed subscribers to add tablets and has even given them away free when customers add them to their data plan.

In the latest quarter, Verizon said 1.4 million of its 2 million net retail postpaid additions came from tablets. Postpaid phone additions were 672,000, as 4G smartphone additions were offset by declines in basic and 3G smartphones.

The company in late February completed its deal to gain full ownership of Verizon Wireless, buying Vodafone Group PLC's 45% stake in the wireless carrier for $130 billion. The acquisition is expected to sharply increase Verizon's profits and will give the company more flexibility in driving Verizon Wireless's future. Verizon has said it is looking to focus on smartphone penetration and connected devices, such as cars and tablets, to boost sales at Verizon Wireless.

Wireless providers are expecting to spend billions of dollars in upcoming years in government-run wireless spectrum auctions, as they seek to beef up their networks. However, Verizon and AT&T Inc., the two largest U.S. wireless providers, may face limits to how much spectrum they are allowed to purchase, as government regulators try to keep smaller providers T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp. competitive against their larger rivals.

Overall, Verizon posted a loss of $2.23 billion, or 54 cents a share, compared with a profit of $5.07 billion, or $1.76 a share, a year earlier. The quarter was weighed down by the company's mark-to-market pension adjustments.

Dozens of large companies in the past few years have switched to mark-to-market pension accounting to make it easier for investors to gauge plan performance. The switch can cause more volatility in the companies's earnings, but it offers a more current picture of a pension plan's health. Last week, AT&T said it would take a $7.9 billion charge for pension-related costs.

Excluding a pension-adjustment charge of $1.12 a share and a charge of 13 cents a share for early debt retirement, Verizon's per-share earnings rose to 71 cents from 66 cents a year earlier.

Revenue increased 6.8% to $33.2 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting 71 cents a share in earnings and $32.69 billion in revenue.

Revenue in its Verizon Wireless division increased 11% as the unit added 2.1 million retail net connections. Verizon said about 75% of phone activations in the quarter were customer upgrades.

For its FiOS TV and broadband service service, Verizon posted 145,000 internet and 116,000 video net additions. Revenue in the division increased 11.6% from a year earlier.

Write to Chelsey Dulaney at [e-mail]

Access Investor Kit for Vodafone Group Plc

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=GB00BH4HKS39

Access Investor Kit for AT&T, Inc.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US00206R1023

Access Investor Kit for Verizon Communications, Inc.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US92343V1044

Access Investor Kit for Vodafone Group Plc

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US92857W3088

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires