Image source: CenturyLink.
Diversified telecom operator CenturyLink (CTL +1.73%) just reported results for the first quarter of 2014.
CenturyLink added nearly 66,000 broadband subscribers and 24,000 TV service customers during the quarter, while losing 120,000 phone access lines.
Revenue stayed flat year-over-year at $4.5 billion. Adjusted earnings declined 13% to $0.66 per diluted share. Analysts would have settled for both lower earnings and slower sales, so CenturyLink delivered solid first-quarter numbers.
The company saw high single-digit sales growth in each of its strategic segments. Shrinking legacy operations made up the difference, and these dynamics will remain in the second quarter as well.
Looking ahead, CenturyLink centered its earnings guidance on the current analyst consensus of $0.64 per share. Sales projections also landed close to the current Street consensus.
"We continue to see increasing demand from business customers for our reliable, secure solutions that meet their network and hosting needs," said CenturyLink CEO Glen Post in a prepared statement.
Specifically, the company added cloud service nodes in two data centers during the first quarter and is on schedule to install cloud nodes in another four data centers by the end of the year.
"We believe this advanced cloud infrastructure technology significantly strengthens our capabilities to meet the growing demand for highly automated cloud and managed services," Post said.
