AT&T Corp. on Thursday reported a third-quarter net loss of $7.1 billion as the telecommunications giant recorded an $11.4 billion charge to reflect the declining value of assets.
The company posted consolidated quarterly revenue of $7.6 billion, an 11.7 percent decline versus the third quarter of 2003.
AT&T is in the process of a massive reorganization as it scales back its traditional local and long-distance consumer operations and sharpens its focus on corporate customers in the business unit, which comprises the bulk of sales. The company is shedding about one fifth of its workforce this year, which AT&T says will result in annualized savings of approximately $1.2 billion.
AT&T posted revenue of $5.6 billion in AT&T Business, a 10.4 percent decline from the quarter a year ago. But AT&T reported signing a number of customer wins and contracts extensions with large companies, including Ford Motor Company, Continental Airlines and Siemens AG, among others.
Revenue in the consumer unit slipped to $2 billion, representing a 15.2 percent decline versus the quarter a year ago.
Earlier this year, AT&T announced plans to retreat from the traditional residential market after a federal appeals court struck down rules that allowed the company to lease at government-mandated rates the regional Bell networks controlled by BellSouth Corp, SBC Communications Inc., Qwest Communications International Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. Since 2002, AT&T and MCI Inc. have been largely responsible for residential line losses at BellSouth, SBC and Verizon.
In third-quarter results Thursday, SBC said its retail consumer line base declined by 259,000 during the period, compared to declines of 624,000 in the quarter a year ago. San Antonio-based SBC posted third-quarter earnings of $1.25 billion and revenue of $10.3 billion, up 1.4 percent from the period a year ago.
