MONROE, La. (AP) ? Phone company CenturyLink Inc. says its third-quarter net income fell as rising operating expenses related to its April acquisition of larger phone company Qwest overshadowed increased revenue.
In the July-September quarter, CenturyLink earned $140 million, or 23 cents per share. This is 40 percent lower than the $232 million, or 76 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items, the company earned 34 cents per share, matching estimates of analysts polled by FactSet.
Revenue rose to $4.6 billion from $1.7 billion, also in line with what analysts expected. Of this, $2.7 billion came from Qwest.
CenturyLink expects fourth-quarter adjusted net income of 58 to 62 cents per share on revenue of $4.6 to $4.65 billion.
Analysts expect adjusted earnings of 34 cents per share on $4.6 billion in revenue.
