Verizon Wireless, the largest wireless carrier in the U.S. said it has swung to profit in Q4 2013, on the back of a sharp increase in number of wireless customers.
In its year-end financial report for 2013, the company posted a net income of $7.9 billion (on $31 billion in revenue) or $1.77 per share for the fourth quarter, compared to a year-earlier loss of $1.9 billion, or $1.48 per share, that was caused by Hurricane Sandy and rising costs in employees pensions.
Verizon's wireless division added 1.65 million new customers to its total subscriber base, taking the total count to 102.8 million. The division generated $21.1 billion in revenue, compared to $20 billion in the year-ago quarter.
In the report, company said it has expanded its LTE network to cover more than 99 percent of its 3G footprint. Its LTE network now covers almost 305 million people which is 97 percent of the U.S. population. Sixty nine percent of the carrier's data traffic now flows over its LTE network. In the quarter and it is expected to grow larger as the company activated 9 million new LTE devices that included smartphones, tablets, and other data devices, in the latest quarter.
Verizon has been feeling the heat in the competitive wireless industry with rivals such as AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile trying to lure away customers with new offerings and deals. For instance, T-Mobile recently offered to pay off early termination fees of for those willing to sw itch over to T-Mobile.
Recently, Verizon too tweaked one of its early upgrade programs by reducing the wait time for a phone upgrade to 30 days from 60 days. The company also introduced an economical $60 Share Everything plan that includes unlimited voice calls, text messages and 250 MB of data.
In wireline business, Verizon added 126,000 net new FIOS Internet connections along with 92,000 net new FIOS video customers.
The company also announced Tuesday that it will be buying the Internet television assets from chip maker Intel Corp, though it did not disclose the terms of the deal. Verizon hopes to challenge Comcast by using the new acquisition to improve search and discovery features on its wireline FiOS video service, and help build a platform to deliver video service on mobile devices.
Verizon executives said they might make decisions for adjustments in the existing plans to contend with other carrier's offerings like no-contract plans and lower roaming fees.
"We are prepared to respond where we see a need to respond," said Fran Shammo, Verizon's chief financial officer, in an interview.
The company said it expects to finalize the $130 billion deal that allows it to buy Vodafone's 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless, on Feb. 21. The move will ensure that Verizon will not have to split its profits with the UK telecoms major in the future.
