Broadwing revenue flat, but loss lessens

Broadwing Corp. reported this morning that fourth quarter 2005 revenue came in at $220 million, barely $1 million more than the previous quarter. However, the company definitively reduced its net loss from $30.5 million in the third quarter 2005 to about $21.1 million in the fourth quarter.

In per-share terms, the net loss for the most recent quarter was $0.29 per share, compared to $0.41 per share for the third quarter. The net loss for the full year 2005 also was lower than the previous year--about $133 million for 2005, compared to about $152 million for 2004, or a loss of $1.83 per share, compared to the previous yearly loss of $2.86 per share.

Total revenue for 2005 was about $879 million, and the company stated that voice service revenue increased about 56% for the year, while data revenue was up about 18%. Data revenue was reported at $465.2 million for the year, and voice revenue was about $410 million.

"Broadwing has made substantial financial and operational progress over the past year," said Lynn Anderson, chief financial officer of Broadwing, in a statement. "We integrated the Focal acquisition and rationalized our network to achieve cost savings, while increasing revenue particularly in targeted product areas. In addition, we reduced our operating expenses and net loss, and we continued to show progress to profitability."

Revenue in 2004 had been reported at about $672 million, and the company credited the year-over-year increase to organic growth in data and broadband services, as well as the contributions of Focal Communications, which Broadwing acquired in 2004. However, the 2005 results also included $1.4 million of restructuring and other charges mostly related to the Focal deal.

Broadwing recently announced that David Huber has moved out of his role as CEO, though he remains on the board of directors. The company said that Scott Widham, president of sales and marketing; CFO Anderson; and Kim Larsen, general counsel, have been assigned to a senior management team that will oversee day-to-day operations of the company pending completion of the search for a new chief executive.

Broadwing also announced that Lufthansa has selected Broadwing to provide voice services in 40 locations throughout the United States.