|
(Roseville, California) - Integrated communications provider
SureWest Communications (Nasdaq:SURW) announced operating results
today for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2001.
SureWest reported record full-year operating revenues in 2001 of
$167.0 million, up 16.5 percent from $143.3 million in 2000. The
2001 results reflect significant growth in the Company's Long Distance,
Directory, DSL, Internet and Wireless operations, which contributed
$43.7 million to the Company's operating revenues. Net income for
the full year was $10.3 million, or $.67 per share, compared to
$8.06 per share in the prior year.
A significant portion of the change in net income in 2001 is attributable
to the November 2000 sale of the Company's 24.2 percent cellular
limited partnership interest in Sacramento-Valley Limited Partnership,
which resulted in a one-time gain in 2000 in the amount of $119.8
million, net of tax. In addition, there were accounting and regulatory
developments affecting the Company's 2000 results which reduced
net income in the prior year in the aggregate amount of $14.2 million,
net of taxes.
The Company's 2001 results include fourth quarter operating revenues
of $45.2 million. Consolidated fourth quarter 2001 net income was
$2.4 million, or $.16 per share, which included an increase in revenues
resulting from the Company's $2.2 million reduction, recorded in
the fourth quarter, of its regulatory liabilities associated with
interstate revenue obligations.
Consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortization (EBITDA) were $15.3 million in the fourth quarter of
2001. EBITDA rose 31 percent from $11.7 million in the third quarter
of 2001, resulting primarily from improved Long Distance, Directory
and Internet margins. EBITDA for the full year was $52.6 million.
Last year's EBITDA results were significantly impacted by the sale
of the Company's cellular limited partnership interest.
Consolidated operating expenses increased to $40.6 million in the
fourth quarter and $154.2 million for the full year, compared to
$35.1 million and $119.6 million in the same periods last year.
Customer costs for wireless and DSL services rose on significant
subscriber increases, while depreciation and amortization expenses
in Broadband, Internet, Wireless and local telephone operations
grew, reflecting substantial plant investments in the past year.
"Results support our decision in the past year to apply a
steady, consistent hand to growing our revenue, service area and
customer base," said Brian Strom, President and Chief Executive
Officer. "We also invested significantly in diversifying our
revenue streams while remaining profitable. Now we are poised to
leverage network synergies among our businesses to improve operating
margins and profits."
SureWest's telecom segment, including incumbent local exchange
carrier Roseville Telephone Company, reported 2001 full-year operating
revenues of $150.7 million, up 8.9 percent from $138.4 million in
2000 as network access revenues increased 18.8 percent annually
on strong digital subscriber line (DSL) growth. Residential DSL
penetration reached 11% in the third quarter of 2001 and rose above
12% by year-end on robust high-speed connectivity demand.
Telecom expenses totaled $28.3 million in the fourth quarter 2001
versus $25.1 million in 2000, a 12.7 percent increase. Telecom expenses
for the full year rose 13.0 percent from $96.5 million to $109.0
million as broadband demand drove customer costs and depreciation
and amortization higher.
SureWest's competitive local exchange carrier, SureWest Broadband,
operates 23,000 lit fiber miles ringing the prime commercial markets
of the Sacramento region. Broadband, which recently expanded its
sales force with several key additions, targets enterprise network
access customers to fulfill its strategy of making every on-network
addition financially self-supporting.
Revenues from SureWest's Internet, Long Distance and Directory
businesses totaled $22.9 million in 2001 compared to $18.5 million
in 2000, a 23.8 percent increase. SureWest Internet now serves over
11,000 subscribers. SureWest Long Distance achieved a 25 percent
market share in 2001. Directory advertising was up eight percent
in 2001.
SureWest Wireless revenue was $4.2 million in the fourth quarter
and $16.3 million for the full year 2001, increases of 47.4 percent
and 231 percent over the comparable periods in 2000, respectively.
Costs rose 96 percent annually over 2000, reflecting significant
increases in customer and corporate operations and higher depreciation
expenses as Wireless continued to aggressively grow its subscriber
base and supporting infrastructure during 2001.
"After years of investing in a layer-and-leverage, edge-out
strategy beyond our traditional telephone service area, we are competitively
positioned to accelerate growth and widen profit margins. The Sacramento
region has a very bright future and we intend to be its dominant
integrated communications provider," said Strom.
###
SureWest Communications
Selected Financial Data
(dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
| |
2001 |
2000 |
| |
|
|
| Total operating revenues |
$166,965 |
$143,316 |
| Gain on sale of investment in
cellular partnership |
$ - |
$201,294 |
| Net income |
$ 10,317 |
$125,793 |
| |
|
|
| Basic earnings per share |
$ .67 |
$ 8.06 |
| Diluted earnings per share |
$ .67 |
$ 8.05 |
| |
|
|
| Extraordinary loss, net of
tax |
$ - |
$(10,932) |
| |
|
|
| Cumulative effect of change
in accounting principle,
net of tax |
$ - |
$ (3,273) |
| |
|
|
| Extraordinary loss, net of
tax, per share (basic and
diluted) |
$ - |
$ (0.70) |
| |
|
|
| Cumulative effect of change
in accounting principle,
net of tax, per share,
(basic and diluted) |
$ - |
$ (0.21) |
| |
|
|
| Cash dividends per share |
$ 1.00 |
$ 1.00 |
| Property, plant and equipment,
at cost |
$ 524,506 |
$ 469,389 |
| Total assets |
$ 412,343 |
$ 528,942 |
| Long-term debt |
$ 42,143 |
$ 44,285 |
| |
|
|
| Shares of common stock used
to calculate: |
|
|
| Basic earnings per share |
15,326 |
15,610 |
| Diluted earnings per
share |
15,387 |
15,630 |
Selected Operating Statistics
| |
2001 |
2000 |
| ILEC |
|
|
| Access Lines |
134,900 |
133,400 |
| Voice-grade Equivalents |
285,000 |
243,000 |
| Gross PPE(in millions) |
$392 |
$375 |
| Fiber Miles |
28,000 |
18,000 |
| CLEC Fiber Miles |
23,000 |
10,000 |
| Total Fiber Miles |
51,000 |
30,000 |
| DSL subscribers |
11,200 |
6,400 |
| ISP Subscribers |
11,000 |
6,200 |
| Long Distance Rev(in millions) |
$6.4 |
$4.7 |
| Directory Rev(in millions) |
$14.2 |
$13.0 |
| |
|
|
| WIRELESS |
|
|
| Subscribers |
31,600 |
20,000 |
| POPs |
3,300,000 |
3,300,000 |
| POPs Covered |
2,200,000 |
1,400,000 |
About SureWest Communications
SureWest Communications and its family of companies,
including Roseville Telephone Company, SureWest Wireless, SureWest
Broadband, SureWest Internet, SureWest Directories and SureWest
Long Distance, create value for customers and shareholders through
an integrated network of highly reliable advanced communications
products and services with unsurpassed customer care. The company's
principal operating subsidiary, Roseville Telephone Company, is
California's third largest telecommunications company, and has provided
telecommunications services for 86 years as the Incumbent Local
Exchange Carrier (ILEC) to the communities of Roseville, Citrus
Heights, Granite Bay, Antelope and parts of Rocklin. The company,
through its Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) and subsidiaries,
is licensed to provide fiber optics, 39 GHz wireless, PCS wireless,
DSL, high-speed Internet access and data transport. For more information,
visit the SureWest web site at www.surewest.com.
Statements made in this news release that are not historical
facts are forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to the
safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of
risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause the company's
actual results to differ from those projected in such forward-looking
statements.
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
from those set forth in the forward-looking statements include,
but are not limited to: advances in telecommunications technology,
changes in the telecommunications regulatory environment, changes
in competition in markets in which the company operates, the availability
of future financing, changes in the demand for services and products,
new product and service development and introductions, pending and
future litigation and unanticipated changes in the growth of the
company's emerging businesses, including the PCS, Internet and CLEC
operating entities.
# # #
For more information, contact media@surewest.com.
Recent
News Releases
News
Release Archive
|
