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Frontier Communications Corporation

5/21/2013, 7:05 AM ET

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Thursday, May 9, 1:13 PM Frontier (FTR -1.6%) ticks lower as two rural telco peers head in opposite directions following their Q1 reports. CenturyLink (CTL +1.9%) is rallying in response to an EPS beat and reaffirmed free cash flow guidance, and Windstream (WIN -4.2%) is selling off due to a revenue/EPS miss caused by ongoing wholesale and (to a lesser extent) consumer weakness. Also: Highfields Capital's Jonathan Jacobson made a bear case for AT&T today featuring arguments - slumping wireline revenue and a potentially unsustainable dividend yield - that are often levied against rural telcos. (transcripts: CenturyLink, Windstream) (Frontier Q1: I, II) Comment! [Tech, On the Move]
Monday, May 6, 5:17 PM More on Frontier: Residential customers fell by 28K Q/Q to 2.86M; business customers fell by 5K to 281K. Total customer loss down from 50K in Q4 and 73K a year ago. 28K broadband net adds, 18K video adds. Business ARPU +4% Y/Y to $644, residential ARPU +2% to $59. Q1 capex was $189M, -9% Y/Y. Local/local distance revenue -9% Y/Y due to continued voice sub losses; data/Internet service revenue +2%; switched access/subsidy -9%. Thanks to free cash flow decline, dividend payout ratio was 48%, up from Q4's 45% and Q1 2012's 39%. FTR +0.2% AH. (PR) 5 Comments [Tech, Earnings]
Monday, May 6, 4:21 PM Frontier Communications (FTR): Q1 EPS of $0.05 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $1.205B (-5% Y/Y) misses by $15M. Free cash flow of $206M, -19% Y/Y. Reaffirms 2013 free cash flow guidance of $825M-$925M, and capex guidance of $625M-$675M. Shares +0.5% AH. (PR) (slides) 1 Comment [Tech, Earnings, Breaking News]
Monday, May 6, 1:26 PM Frontier Communications (FTR) declares $0.10/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 9.83%. For shareholders of record June 07. Payable June 28. Ex-div date June 05. (PR) 1 Comment [Dividends]
Monday, May 6, 12:10 AM Notable earnings after Monday’s close: ALNY, AMTG, APC, ARRY, BSFT, CECO, CHUY, DPM, ENOC, EOG, FSLR, FST, FTR, GDP, GSM, GWAY, HIMX, HOLX, LGCY, MELI, MKTG, MMLP, MR, NOG, NRP, OTTR, PAA, PEGA, PNG, RKUS, SGY, SMG, SNTS, STAG, VNO, WMS Comment! [Earnings]
Sunday, May 5, 5:35 PM Notable earnings after Monday’s close: ALNY, AMTG, APC, ARRY, BSFT, CECO, CHUY, DPM, ENOC, EOG, FSLR, FST, FTR, GDP, GSM, GWAY, HIMX, HOLX, LGCY, MELI, MKTG, MMLP, MR, NOG, NRP, OTTR, PAA, PEGA, PNG, RKUS, SGY, SMG, SNTS, STAG, VNO, WMS Comment! [Earnings]
Wednesday, April 24, 10:44 AM AT&T (T -5.4%) gets slammed as 3 downgrades arrive in response to its Q1 revenue miss, the result of soft wireless subscriber adds and declining wireline revenue. There might also be concerns about whether lowering 2014/2015 capex targets (to fuel more buybacks?) is a bright idea in light of flagging growth. AT&T's 296K Q1 postpaid net adds (boosted by tablets) and 184K prepaid net losses are easily worse than Verizon's respective net adds of 677K and 43K. On the earnings call, AT&T mostly blamed wireline weakness on macro and government issues, rather than legacy voice service declines. VZ -1.9%. CTL -4%. WIN -2.2%. FTR -1.1%. 8 Comments [Tech, Earnings, On the Move]
Thursday, April 4, 10:35 AM CenturyLink's (CTL +2.4%) dividend (current yield of 6%) is sustainable, declares JPMorgan's Philip Cusick while upgrading shares to Buy - CenturyLink crashed in Feb. after cutting its dividend by over 25%. Cusick notes the telco's yield remains higher than Verizon and AT&T's, and believes it has been making good use of its $2B buyback plan. The upgrade comes as rural telcos try to take advantage of FCC chairman Julius Genachowski's pending departure to get Congress to implement a "time out" for the FCC's Universal Service Fund reforms. Comment! [Tech, On the Move, Quick Ideas]
Tuesday, April 2, 2:32 PM Verizon Wireless (VZ, VOD) has purchased Frontier (FTR) and Rio Virgin Telephone's ownership stakes in Mohave Wireless, a rural 3G carrier operating in Arizona. Verizon, whose 4G LTE network covers nearly 89% of the U.S. population, says it will upgrade Mohave's network to 4G, now that it fully owns the carrier. Terms of the deal haven't been disclosed. 2 Comments [Tech, M&A]
Thursday, March 28, 4:47 PM Frontier's (FTR +3.7%) has expanded the scope of its debt refinancing, much to the Street's approval. The telco is now including $831.7M worth of 8.25% senior notes due 2017 as part of its cash tender offers, and has expanded the size of its 2024 senior note offering to $750M from $500M. Nomura's Mike McCormack (previous) thinks the moves demonstrate Frontier's financial health. He estimates Frontier will generate $3.5B in free cash flow from 2014-2017, more than enough to handle dividend/debt maturity obligations of $3.15B. 3 Comments [Tech, On the Move]
Wednesday, March 27, 12:01 PM Frontier (FTR -1.4%) is refinancing some more debt. The rural telco has announced cash tender offers for $675M worth of 6.625% and 7.875% senior notes due 2015, and will help pay for the purchases by issuing $500M worth of senior notes due 2024. Frontier, which had $9.5B in debt at the end of 2012, repaid $502.7M worth of 6.25% senior notes in January. 1 Comment [Tech]
Friday, March 8, 10:58 AM Looking to protect the duopoly/near-duopoly positions they have in many U.S. broadband markets, U.S. telcos and cable companies are lobbying hard to put an end to publicly-funded broadband networks, arguing (without irony) such networks hurt competition. AT&T (T), Time Warner Cable (TWC), Windstream (WIN), and Comcast (CMCSA) are some of the incumbents to have mounted lobbying efforts, which have led at least 19 states to place restrictions on public broadband investments. 13 Comments [Tech]
Saturday, February 23, 2:47 PM "There's no need for us to cut our dividend, neither this year nor next year nor in the future," says Windstream (WIN) CEO Jeff Gardner - his firm is committed to a $1/share/year payout (11.7% yield). But while Gardner argues a focus on business services will allow Windstream to avoid CenturyLink's (CTL) fate, many think rural telco yields can't last in light of wireline disconnections, capex needs, and potential tax credit removals. Nomura: "A lot of these companies are carrying the baggage of a legacy dividend policy that just doesn't make sense any more." FTR has a 9.8% yield, and CNSL a 9.3% yield. 16 Comments [Tech]
Thursday, February 21, 4:07 PM Frontier Communications (FTR): Q4 EPS of $0.06 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $1.23B (-4% Y/Y) misses by $10M. Expects 2013 free cash flow of $825M-$925M and 2013 capex of $625M-$675M. Shares +0.3% AH. (PR) 1 Comment [Tech, Earnings]
Thursday, February 21, 10:33 AM Frontier Communications Corp (FTR) declares $0.10/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 10.08%. For shareholders of record Mar. 08. Payable Mar. 29. Ex-div date Mar. 06. (PR) 1 Comment [Dividends]
Thursday, February 21, 12:10 AM Notable earnings after Thursday’s close: ACTG, AIG, ARUN, ATLS, BMRN, BV, CENX, CLGX, COG, CUBE, CYH, DRYS, EXEL, EXR, FIRE, FLS, FTR, GDI, HPQ, INT, INTU, ITMN, JWN, MRVL, NEM, NPSP, ONXX, PSA, SBAC, SWN, TS, WBMD Comment! [Earnings]