- Windstream Holdings (WIN) is down 0.6% in premarket trading after posting Q1 earnings that beat expectations on a GAAP basis, though revenue slipped 2.7%. GAAP EPS of $0.05 compared to an expected -$0.03.
- With the spinoff of Communications Sales & Leasing (CSAL) complete -- "This transaction has made Windstream a stronger company with less debt and increased capacity to invest in our network," says CEO Tony Thomas -- pro forma results showed EBITDA of $494.7M, narrowly missing an expected $495.2M.
- Revenue breakout: Service revenues, $1.38B (down 3%); Product sales, $36.8M (down 19%). Enterprise/small business service revenues were $741M; data and integrated service revenues were up 3% to $427M.
- Capex was $189M; free cash flow was $232M, and dividends paid were $151M. Going forward, Windstream expects to pay $0.60 annually in dividends.
- With the spinoff, Windstream paid down $2.4B in debt and expects to pay down $850M more with cash from the transaction. Other debt reduction using its stake in CS&L should bring total debt reduction to more than $4B.
- Press Release