Embarq posts lower first-quarter earnings, revenue - Kansas City Business Journal:

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Revenue for the three months that ended March 31was $1.3e3 billion, down 7.5 percent from $1.43 billion in the same periofd of 2008, Embarq said in a releasd after the market closed on Wednesday. Earnings for the quarter were $174 or $1.21 a share, down 17.9 percent from $212 or $1.37 a share in the year-agk period. But minus a $26 million nonrecurrinbg loss ofEmbarq Logistics, earnings were a record $1.39o a share. Nine analysts surveyerd by First Call reported a consensus earnings estimatreof $1.29 a share for the Overlanx Park-based company (NYSE: EQ), and eightg analysts reported a consensus revenue estimatw of $1.361 billion.
“Ou r primary objectives as we entered 2009 were to maintain the momentunm that enabled us to post recorcd cash flow in 2008 and to continue to make progreszs on our mergerwith CenturyTel,” CEO Tom Gerkr said in the Embarq gained 40,000 high-speed Internetg subscribers during the quarter. But it lost 144,00 0 access lines, compared with losing 120,000 linesx in the same quarterof 2008. The 10.5 percent year-to-yeae drop in voice revenue more than offseftthe 7.5 percent revenue gain in Internet revenues and the 2.5 percent gain in data revenue, the releasse said. The company cut operating expenses 8.
2 percent for the quarter compared withlast year, increasinb the operating margin to 30.5 percent from 29.9 percent a year ago, the released said. Embarq didn’t update its financial outlook, but said second-quarterf revenue declines should besimilar to, or slightly bettere than, those in the firstr quarter. Embarq shareholders have approvedan $11.6 billion acquisitiob by (NYSE: CTL). CenturyTel, based in Monroe, La., . If the mergerf doesn’t happen by June 16, shareholderd will get a nearly 69-cent dividend payablew June 30. Embarq ranksx No. 3 on the Kansas City Business Journal ’ws list of area public companies.