Mixed bag for Verizon's Q1

Verizon's fiscal first quarter earnings reported Tuesday were a mixed bag.

The phone giant reported a fiscal first-quarter income of $4.22 billion, or $1.02 per share. Revenue landed at $32 billion, a 4 percent increase on the year-ago quarter (statement). Non-GAAP earnings were 84 cents per share.

Wall Street was expecting 95 cents per share on revenue on $32.28 billion. Verizon scored a hit on earnings, but a miss on revenue.

Verizon's chief executive Lowell McAdam said in prepared remarks that the company's year was off to a "strong start."

He added: "We expanded our base of customers seeking a premium experience, and we grew revenues, earnings and cash flow during a quarter in which we also took significant steps to sharpen our strategic focus."

Verizon, the largest wireless carrier in the US, said it had 565,000 net retail postpaid connections added during the three-month period, ending mid-March. That's a total of 102.6 million total retail postpaid connections.

The wireless division added 621,000 next-generation 4G smartphones, which along with 820,000 4G tablets. The company said 4G now accounts for 70 percent of its retail postpaid connections base, up from 49 percent a year prior.

Its churn rate was 1.03 percent for the first quarter, an improvement on last year's figures.

On its fiber cable service, FiOS, the company saw a 10.2 percent year-over-year increase in revenues, thanks to a bump in both Internet and video net additions.

On a conference call with analysts, CFO Fran Shammo said:

• "New revenue streams from the Internet of Things and Telematics continue to emerge and grow. In the first quarter, these revenues totaled approximately $150 million, an increase of 25 percent. We continue to build upon our Internet of Things and video platforms. In particular, innovation within the transportation industry presents a great opportunity for us.


• Verizon plans to decommission 10 central offices as it converts customers from copper to fiber.


• Enterprise revenue fell 6 percent, but much of that was due to the strong dollar.


• Verizon is consolidating its information technology network and moving more toward a software-designed approach.