Windstream Corp. on Monday reported third-quarter earnings of $80 million, or 18 cents per share, down 24 percent from the same quarter a year ago.
The Little Rock telecommunications firm (NYSE: WIN) generated revenue of $734 million, an 8 percent drop from the same quarter last year.
Net cash from operations was $242 million, up 9 percent from the previous year's quarter. For the quarter, the company generated $175 million in free cash flow - net cash from operations minus capital expenditures - and, year to date, $535 million in free cash, a 5 percent increase from last year.
"Our marketing efforts and promotions resonated very well in the quarter, resulting in solid broadband customer growth and our lowest line loss since we formed the company in 2006," said Jeff Gardner, president and CEO of Windstream. "We remain focused on improving the trends in our business and continue to demonstrate that we can sustain our cash flows."
Windstream added about 26,000 new high-speed Internet customers during the third quarter, bringing its total broadband customer base to about 1,050,000 customers, an increase of 9 percent year-over-year.
Windstream added more than 11,000 new digital TV customers in the quarter, bringing its total customer base to about 323,000, or 18 percent penetration of primary residential lines.
Total access lines declined by about 27,000. Total lines at the end of the quarter were 2.93 million, a decline of about 5.2 percent year-over-year.
Windstream repurchased 8.9 million shares during the quarter at an average price of $9.95. The firm still has $80 million left in its stock repurchase program.
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