Verizon Profit Falls 30 Pct On Restructuring Costs

DEBORAH YAO

Verizon Communications Inc. reported a 30 percent drop in third-quarter earnings Monday as it couldn't sign up enough new subscribers to offset higher costs from laying off workers and absorbing an acquisition.

The nation's second-largest phone company is evolving its business — managing the downturn of its landline phone business and putting more emphasis on cell phones and its fiber-optic FiOS TV and Internet service. Verizon said it is halfway through cutting the jobs of more than 8,000 employees and contractors by year's end.

The last three months amounted to a "good balancing" quarter for the company as it tries to get a better feel for what it needs to do, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg said. "We have better line of sight now," he said.

Shares of Verizon lost 21 cents to close at $28.64 Monday.

Verizon, which is based in New York, earned $1.18 billion, or 41 cents per share, in the third quarter, compared with $1.67 billion, or 59 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding one-time items such as restructuring costs, Verizon says it earned 60 cents per share — a penny above the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.