What happened
Shares of Consolidated Communications (CNSL 0.11%) were slammed on Thursday, declining about 32% as of 1:51 p.m. EDT.
The stock's decline comes after the broadband provider reported first-quarter results and is likely due to the company's decision to eliminate its dividend.
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So what
Consolidated Communications reported first-quarter revenue of $338.6 million, down from $356.0 million in the year-ago quarter. Management, however, noted that "After normalizing for the sale of the Virginia properties and the one-time Local Switching Support (LSS) received in the first quarter of 2018, revenue declined $11.9 million or 3.4 percent for the quarter."
The company's adjusted net loss per share was $0.03, narrower than a loss of $0.07 in the year-ago quarter.
Management said it is eliminating its dividend in an effort to deleverage its business.
Now what
In addition to aiming to deleverage the company's business with the capital from its eliminated dividend, Consolidated Communications CEO Bob Udell said in the company's first-quarter press release that it "will accelerate our fiber investment strategy."
