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What: Shares of Cincinnati Bell (CBB +0.00%) have gotten crushed today by as much as 24% after the company posted a surprise loss.
So what: Revenue in the fourth quarter totaled $375 million, bringing full-year sales to $1.5 billion. The fact that top-line revenue beat the Street forecast of $367.7 million was little consolation to investors, as the bottom-line adjusted loss of $0.06 was well below the $0.05 per share profit that the market thought was in order. The company's new CEO Ted Torbeck acknowledged challenges facing the company, but believes it is "approaching an inflection point."
Now what: Cincinnati Bell continues to work on reducing debt while also increasing capital investment in its fiber deployment, which are two conflicting initiatives to try to balance. Torbeck said fiber investments are paying off and driving growth. Guidance for 2013 calls for $1.2 billion in revenue and approximately $390 million in adjusted EBITDA. That outlook excludes the results of CyrusOne, which Cincinnati Bell just spun off but retains a 69% stake in.
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