CenturyLink Touts Level 3, Windstream Hypes SD-WAN as Both Profit in Q3

CenturyLink reported increased profit, while Windstream bounced back from a loss with a profit for the third quarter of this year compared to the same quarter in 2017.

CenturyLink’s revenue was $5.8 billion for the quarter, compared to $6 billion for the year-ago quarter. Profit totaled $272 million compared to $187 million a year ago.

CenturyLink’s Jeff Storey

“A year into the close of the Level 3 acquisition, we are pleased with our integration accomplishments to date, highlighted by significant synergy achievement and (operating performance) margin expansion,” said Jeff Storey, CenturyLink’s president and CEO. “We are now transitioning our focus to transforming the business, through product evolution, digitalizing interactions with our customers and a simplified environment for our employees, all of which are intended to drive profitable revenue growth.”

CenturyLink’s enterprise revenue was $1.28 billion, down 3 percent, and medium and small business revenue was $860 million, down 4 percent.

IP and data services revenue was flat at $1.8 billion, and voice and collaboration revenue was $1.6 billion, down 8 percent. Transport and infrastructure was flat at $2 billion, while IT and managed services totaled $153 million, down 7 percent.

For its third quarter, Windstream reported $1.4 billion in revenue and sales, down from nearly $1.5 billion for the year-ago quarter. The company reported a $41 million profit, compared to a net loss of $102 million.

Windstream’s Tony Thomas

“Our enterprise segment saw continued acceleration of SD-WAN and strategic sales, which represented 54 percent of total enterprise sales during the quarter,” said Tony Thomas, Windstream’s president and CEO. “Our intense focus on higher-margin strategic sales enhances both our competitiveness and contribution margins. At the end of the quarter, annualized strategic product revenue was $165 million, representing a 71 percent year-over-year growth rate.”

Service revenue was $1.4 billion in the quarter, down from $1.47 billion for the year-ago quarter. Consumer and small business ILEC service revenues were $459 million, a 4 percent decrease from the year-ago quarter.

Enterprise service revenue was $717 million in the third quarter, down 5 percent from the year-ago quarter.

Wholesale service revenue was $181 million, down 5 percent from a year ago.

CLEC consumer service revenue was $44 million, down 16 percent from the year-ago quarter.