Verizon Sees Big First-Quarter Charge

The local phone company says earnings will be around 72 cents a share.

Author:: TSC Staff
Publish date:: Apr 9, 2002 6:13 PM EDT

Verizon

expects to post first-quarter earnings that could come in a little shy of the consensus estimate, and the company said it will record noncash charges of about $2.5 billion in the period.

The company expects to earn about 72 cents in the first quarter, while analysts polled by First Call, on average, are looking for a profit of 73 cents. The expected charge relates primarily to write-downs associated with goodwill and other investments. Verizon will report complete first-quarter results on April 23.

"As we have said previously, we do not expect to report an improvement in revenue growth due to the continuing effects of the economic downturn," the company said in a press release. "Still, we expect our adjusted first-quarter earnings to be within the range of analyst expectations, primarily due to our continued, aggressive focus on cost control."

Shares of Verizon ended

New York Stock Exchange trading at $42.70, down $1.51, or 3.4%.