AT&T Q1 Profit Falls - Update

(RTTNews) - AT&T Inc. (T) Tuesday reported a first-quarter profit that dropped from a year ago, reflecting lower-than-expected revenues. However, earnings for the quarter came in line with estimates, while revenues fell short.

Dallas, Texas-based telecom giant's first-quarter profit dropped to $3.56 billion or $0.56 per share from $3.89 billion or $0.61 per share last year.

Excluding special items, adjusted earnings were $0.74 per share. On average, 23 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.74 per share for the quarter.

AT&T's revenues for the quarter dropped to $39.37 billion from $40.54 billion last year. Analyst had predicted revenues of $40.53 billion.

The company said revenues declined largely due to record-low equipment sales in wireless.

AT&T reported 2.7 million wireless net additions, with 2.1 million in U.S., driven by prepaid and connected devices. The company said postpaid churn rate for the quarter was 0.90 percent, which was "best-ever first-quarter postpaid phone churn."

Looking forward to full year 2017, AT&T continues to expect adjusted earnings growth in the mid-single digit range. However, the company is no longer providing revenue guidance primarily due to the unpredictability of wireless handset sales. Earlier, it had expected revenue growth in the low-single digits range.

T closed Tuesday's trading at $39.94, down $0.08 or 0.20% on the NYSE. The stock, however, gained $0.24 or 0.60% in the after-hours trade.