AT&T Reports Strong Q1 Results, iPhone Sales "Stable"

by , 1:25 PM EDT, April 22nd, 2008

AT&T reported strong growth during its earnings report on Tuesday, including earnings growth of 26.7 percent and revenue growth of 6.1 percent year over year. iPhone sales were reported as stable

Highlights of the report from AT&Ts San Antonio headquarters included:

• $0.57 reported earnings per diluted share, up 26.7 percent versus $0.45 in the year-earlier first quarter
• $0.74 adjusted earnings per diluted share, up 13.8 percent from $0.65 in the first quarter of 2007
• $30.7 billion in consolidated revenues, up 6.1 percent versus reported results for the year-earlier first quarter and up 4.6 percent versus first-quarter 2007 revenues adjusted for directory accounting impacts
• 18.3 percent increase in wireless revenues; wireless data revenues from areas such as Internet access, messaging and media bundles up 57.3 percent
• 41.7 percent wireless OIBDA service margin, up from an adjusted 38.9 percent in the year-earlier first quarter
• 13.2 percent growth in broadband revenues; 491,000 net gain in broadband connections in the quarter to reach 14.6 million in service
• Further step up in enterprise customer growth, with total enterprise revenues up 1.2 percent and enterprise service revenues up 2.1 percent, led by a 22.9 percent increase in revenues from Internet Protocol (IP)-based data services
• Continued ramp in AT&T U-verse [IPTV] TV subscriber totals, with a first-quarter net gain of 148,000 to reach 379,000 in service; on track to reach target of more than 1 million subscribers by year-end 2008

"We delivered an excellent first quarter and a solid start to the year," said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and chief executive officer. "Revenue growth continues to ramp, we have good momentum across key growth areas, major cost initiatives are on track, and our operational results reinforce the confidence we have in our outlook."

AT&Ts earning report did not reference Apple or iPhone sales specifically, and that's simply a typical practice because AT&T sells mobile phones from many different manufacturers. However, when asked specifically during the call, AT&T's CFO Rick Lindner said: “The iPhone again continues to be very popular with customers, and customer feedback on the device is very good.” In a followup, when asked if customers had withheld purchases in expectation of a 3G version of the phone, Mr. Lindner responded: “Through the first quarter, it [iPhone sales] was pretty stable.”

Apple's earnings report will be on Wednesday.