Verizon reported earnings of USD 1.32 per share in the fourth quarter of 2015, compared to a loss of USD 0.54 per share in the fourth quarter of 2014. Total operating revenues rose by 3.2 percent to USD 34.25 billion, versus USD 33.19 billion to the year-earlier period. Verizon posted a USD 9.74 billion operating income in its latest quarter, after a USD 2.14 billion operating loss a year earlier. Net income came in at USD 5.51 billion, compared to a year-earlier net loss of USD 2.15 billion.
Verizon’s wireless business posted USD 23.7 billion of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2015, up 1.2 percent on the fourth quarter of 2014. Service revenue declined by 5.6 percent to USD 17.2 billion, while equipment revenue increased to USD 5.4 billion from USD 4.2 billion, as more customers bought new devices with instalment pricing. Wireless operations achieved a 38.4 percent EBITDA margin, compared with 32.6 percent in a year ago.
Verizon added 1.5 million postpaid customers in the fourth quarter, excluding wholesale and IoT connections. Retail postpaid churn was 0.96 percent in the quarter, an improvement of 18 basis points year-on-year. The company had 112.1 million retail wireless connections at the end of 2015, a 3.6 percent increase on a year earlier. 4G devices now constitute more than 79 percent of the retail postpaid connections base, with the LTE network handling approximately 90 percent of total wireless data traffic in fourth-quarter 2015.
In the wireline segment, Verizon saw continued revenue and customer growth for Fios fibre-based services. The wireline segment posted USD 4.1 billion of consumer revenue, up 2.6 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2014, with Fios services accounting for 80.4 percent of the total. Total Fios revenues rose by 6.8 percent on a year earlier, to USD 3.5 billion, and consumer Fios revenues grew 6.6 percent. The wireline EBITDA margin was 24.2 percent, versus 23.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Verizon added 99,000 net new Fios internet connections and 20,000 net new Fios video connections in the quarter, taking their respective totals to 7 million and 5.8 million. Over 70 percent of Fios internet customers subscribed to 50 Mbps or faster internet services by the end of the year.
Verizon expects its 2016 adjusted earnings to be at a level comparable to 2015, including a stable adjusted EBITDA margin. Capital expenditure is estimated at USD 17.2-17.7 billion in 2016, down slightly from USD 17.8 billion last year. The forecast includes USD 150 million for wireline properties being sold to Frontier Communications, a transaction expected to close by the end of the first quarter.
