Level 3 narrows loss on flat sales
Telecommunications provider Level 3 Communications Inc. said Thursday its third-quarter loss narrowed, beating Wall Street expectations.
The company lost $120 million, or 8 cents per share, in the three months ended Sept. 30 compared with a year-ago loss of $174 million, or 11 cents per share.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of 9 cents per share.
Revenue inched up to $1.07 billion, matching analysts' forecasts. Its revenue a year ago was $1.06 billion.
The company said sales in its core business of network and voice services rose 7 percent, which it credited to ongoing demand from Europe and regional U.S. carriers and wireless providers, but was offset by a decline in what it termed other communications services revenue.
Level 3 offers Internet access and data and voice-over-Internet services to residential and business customers.
Capital expenses declined from the second quarter, but the company didn't provide a comparable figure from last year's third quarter.
Similarly, cash burn as measured by free cash flow improved from the second quarter, to negative $4 million from negative $54 million, but no figure was provided for the third quarter a year ago.
Chief Executive James Crowe said Level 3's fiber-based network put it in good position to gain market share in the current economy.
Shares of Level 3 closed Wednesday at $1.23, near the bottom of their 52-week range of $1.18 to $4.48.
Copyright 2008 AP News
