Level 3 Communications on Wednesday reported $250 million in profit for the fourth quarter compared to $3.3 billion for the same quarter in 2015.

Overall revenue totaled $2 billion, down slightly from the year-ago quarter. For the full year, Level 3 reported $8.17 billion in total revenue, down from $8.2 billion for 2015, and $677 million in profit, down from $3.43 billion.

Fourth-quarter 2015 included a non-cash benefit of about $3.3 billion tied to the release of a valuation allowance against deferred tax assets.

Core network services (CNS) revenue in the fourth quarter totaled $1.6 billion in North America and $1.93 billion globally, compared to $1.57 billion and $1.94 billion for the year-ago quarter.

North America enterprise CNS revenue increased 3 percent compared to fourth quarter 2015. Global enterprise CNS revenue was up 2 percent.{ad}

CenturyLink is buying Level 3 in a $34 billion deal anticipated to close on Sept. 30.

“With integration planning well under way, we continue to gain excitement about the combination with CenturyLink,” said Jeff Storey, Level 3’s president and CEO. “Adding Level 3’s global network, advanced solutions and proven experience serving large, multinational customers to CenturyLink’s extensive capabilities will enhance value for all of our customers, as well as our stockholders.”