Windstream Slips To Loss In Q4 - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Windstream Holdings Inc. (WIN) reported that its fourth-quarter of 2014 net loss was $77.5 million or $0.13 per share, compared to net income of $118.4 million or $0.20 per share in the same quarter in 2013.

GAAP results included a pre-tax expense of $128 million, or 13 cents per share, related to the company's pension plan. This non-cash charge resulted from a decrease in the discount rate used to measure the company's pension obligations and changes to mortality assumptions reflecting longer life expectancies of plan participants. Results also include approximately 3 cents in after-tax merger and integration and restructuring expense. Excluding these items, adjusted earnings per share would have been 3 cents for the fourth quarter.

Total revenues and sales for the quarter dropped to $1.44 billion from $1.49 billion in the prior year.

On a Pro Forma basis, Total revenues and sales were $1.4 billion in the fourth quarter, a decline of 3 percent from the same period a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.03 per share and revenues of $1.45 billion for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Windstream expects improved revenue trends in 2015 in enterprise, consumer and small business and continuation of some revenue pressure in the carrier business. The company expects total service revenue for the year within a range of a 4 percent decline to flat as compared to 2014 service revenue.

For 2015, the company expects Adjusted OIBDA margins, as a percentage of total revenue, to be in the range of 34 percent to 34.5 percent for the year. The decrease relative to 2014 is largely due to the loss of high-margin carrier, switched access and universal service fund revenues.