Verizon Communications Inc.’s first-quarter earnings rose 9.8 percent as its wireless division signed up more customers than rival carriers, the company said Monday.
The country’s second-largest telecommunications company earned $1.64 billion, or 57 cents per share, in the quarter that ended March 31, compared with $1.5 billion, or 51 cents per share, a year ago.
Revenue rose 5.5 percent to $23.8 billion from $22.6 billion.
Excluding one-time items, earnings were 61 cents per share, matching expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Financial. Analysts had expected revenue of $23.86 billion.
“Verizon has weathered the current economic uncertainty with strong first-quarter results,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Ivan Seidenberg.
Analysts have been looking to the telecommunications companies to hold up well as the economy slows. AT&T Inc., Verizon’s largest rival, bore that out with an earnings report last week that showed little sign of trouble. On a conference call Monday, Verizon Chief Financial Officer Doreen Toben said there was no change in bad customer debt during the quarter.
Shares rose 56 cents to $37.60 in premarket trading.
UBS analyst John Hodulik said wireless results where strong, while the landline business was somewhat lower than expected.
Verizon Wireless added 1.5 million subscribers, beating AT&T, which added 1.3 million in the quarter. However, its growth rate was down from 1.7 million in the same quarter last year. Verizon Wireless still trails AT&T in the total number of subscribers, at 67.2 million compared with 71.4 million.
Verizon Wireless started a minor price war for high-end cellular plans in February, introducing a $99.99 monthly plan with unlimited calls and no roaming fees. Other carriers quickly matched or undersold that plan, and stocks took a hit across the industry as investors feared for carrier margins.
But Verizon chief operating officer Denny Strigl said Monday that the plan was boosting results. Before the plan was introduced, 4 percent…