AT&T swung to a US$4 billion net loss in the fourth quarter of last year, in no small part due to previously announced non-cash charges, but the U.S. telco was upbeat about its mobile customer additions and new focus in Mexico.
The operator’s net loss for the three months to the end of December compared with a profit of $6.9 billion in the year-ago quarter. Its bottom line was hit by charges totalling $10 billion relating to its pension and benefit schemes and the decommissioning of certain network assets. The company was also hit by a loss on the sale of wireline operations in Connecticut.
But revenues were up 3.8% to $34.4 billion, driven by the telco’s mobile business, which contributed $19.9 billion, an increase of 7.7%.
AT&T added 1.9 million mobile connections during the quarter to take its total base to 120.6 million, including reseller customers and connected devices. Its closely-watched postpaid net additions came in at 854,000.
The company’s revenue profile will likely look different next year as a result of the its investments at home and in Mexico.
"Over the last year, we’ve made several moves to significantly transform our business for the future," said AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, in a statement on Tuesday.
"Our transactions with DirecTV and Mexican wireless companies Iusacell and Nextel Mexico will make us a very different company," he added. "We’ll be unique in the industry because we’ll be able to offer integrated capabilities across a diversified base of services, customers, geographies and technology platforms."
Stephenson went on to explain that once the $48.5 billion DirecTV acquisition closes, AT&T’s largest revenue stream will come from its business services, followed by domestic TV and broadband. Consumer mobile in the U.S., and international mobility and TV will come in third and fourth respectively.
The acquisitions will make a substantial difference to AT&T’s overall top line too.
For 2014 the telco generated $132.4 billion in revenues, up from $128.8 billion the previous year.
The 2013 figure ensured AT&T stayed at the top of Total Telecom’s Global 100 ranking last year. Including DirecTV, the telco’s revenues would have jumped to over $164 billion, putting daylight between it and the world’s second largest ope rator by turnover, Verizon. It will also get a small boost from the addition of Iusacell and Nextel Mexico.
