EarthLink Misses Estimates Despite Broadband Subscriber Growth

The Internet service provider posted another loss in the first quarter and guides down.

Author:: Michael Dunn
Publish date:: Apr 23, 2002 7:30 AM EDT

EarthLink

(ELNK)

missed first-quarter estimates despite reporting an increase in high-speed Internet subscribers.

The Internet service provider posted a narrower first-quarter pro forma loss of $19.0 million, or 13 cents a share, compared with a loss of $35.1 million, or 27 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call had been expecting the company to lose 11 cents a share.

Quarterly revenue grew 13% to $333.4 million from $294.94 million a year ago, but still fell short of analyst projections of $339.23 million. Broadband revenue rose 67% over last year to $54.0 million, while narrowband revenue dropped 9%.

In a press release, the company said high-speed access continued to be its growth strategy, and the ISP passed the half-million mark for subscribers, an 85% increase from a year ago.

For the second quarter, EarthLink now anticipates a loss in the range of 8 cents to 11 cents a share on revenue of $338 million to $342 million, below analyst estimates of a loss of 6 cents on revenue of $347.60 million. For the year, the company sees a loss per share of 14 cents to 24 cents on revenue of $1.4 billion. Analysts polled by First Call are looking for a loss of 18 cents on revenue of $1.432 billion.

Shares of EarthLink closed Monday at $9.53 before the news.