Windstream loses $549M
4th-quarter result compares with $1.8B loss a year earlier
Windstream Holdings Inc. reported a net loss of $549 million in the fourth quarter compared with a net loss of $1.8 billion in the same period of 2017, the Little Rock-based rural telecommunications company said Friday.
Windstream lost $12.92 a share for the quarter, missing the average estimate of a $2.79 loss projected by three analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
The telecommunications company posted a net loss of $51.28 per share in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Windstream shares rose almost a nickel, or 18 percent, to close Friday at 33 cents a share.
For all of 2018, the company lost $723 million, or $17.72 per share. That compares with a loss of $2.12 billion for 2017, or a loss of $62.66 a share.
Windstream reported revenue of $5.7 billion for all of 2018 compared with $5.9 billion for 2017.
Tony Thomas, Windstream’s chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement that Windstream had a strong, transformational year in 2018.
After posting its earnings before the market opened Friday, Windstream didn’t host a question-and-answer session with analysts. Instead, Thomas and Bob Gunderman, Windstream’s chief financial officer, recorded a webcast with their comments about the quarter’s results. Windstream spokesman DaWASHINGTON
vid Avery said companies in bankruptcy typically don’t have question-and-answer sessions.
The firm has been operating in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization since Feb. 25 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
Windstream filed for bankruptcy protection after a Feb. 15 ruling by U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman, who said Windstream defaulted on some of its bonds in 2015 when it spun off real estate investment trust Uniti Group Inc.
Actions by Windstream subsidiary Windstream Services amounted to a breach of its financial covenants, making Aurelius Capital Management, a New York hedge fund, entitled to a $310 million judgment, Furman said.
While Windstream didn’t agree with Furman’s decision, Thomas said in a prepared statement, “the company, in conjunction with its financial and legal advisers, have decided this path is in the best interests of all of the company’s stakeholders.”
Windstream argued that Aurelius Capital Management engaged in predatory market manipulation to advance its own financial position and self-interests at the expense of many thousands of shareholders, note holders, employees, customers, vendors and business partners, Thomas said.
“We believe Judge Furman’s decision, which rewarded this type of behavior, was deeply flawed,” Thomas said. “Despite his ruling, Windstream firmly stands by its decision to defend itself in court to protect the interests of our stakeholders.”
The next bankruptcy court hearing is scheduled for April 16.
Windstream intends to move through the court-supervised process as quickly and efficiently as possible, Avery said.
“[The company] will keep stakeholders informed of important milestones as we move forward,” Avery said.
Windstream lined up a commitment for $1 billion of financing from Citigroup Inc. to get it through bankruptcy.
As the company enters 2019, “we are confident we will emerge from the financial restructuring process as a healthier and even stronger company than we are today, and we are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead of us,” Thomas said in a prepared statement.