The Wall Street Journal-20080129-Business Technology- Verizon-s Profit Gets Wireless Boost

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Business Technology: Verizon's Profit Gets Wireless Boost

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Wireless-phone-subscriber gains lifted Verizon Communications Inc.'s fourth-quarter earnings, as the company said it was seeing little impact overall from the souring economy.

Verizon Wireless added nearly 1.9 million net retail wireless customers in the quarter. Verizon Wireless, the No. 2 wireless carrier by subscribers after AT&T Inc., is a joint venture with Vodafone Group PLC. Verizon ended the quarter with 65.7 million wireless subscribers.

The results, which came days after AT&T also reported robust wireless growth, are likely to ease worries about the state of the cellphone market. Sprint Nextel Corp. earlier this month warned of heavier-than-expected subscriber losses.

AT&T has said its landline and Internet-access businesses were experiencing limited pain from economic woes. January sales are meeting expectations, Verizon said.

"We are very confident in our outlook for 2008 and the ability to deliver strong results and create shareowner value," Doreen Toben, chief financial officer, told investors on a conference call.

Verizon's gains in high-speed Internet subscribers for the fourth quarter were weaker than Wall Street expectations. The company also posted lower revenue than many analysts had estimated for its landline business. But the company attributed the results to competition rather than the economy.

Ms. Toben said in an interview that should the company start to feel a pinch from the economy, it could easily trim contracted call-center and installation workers.

In 4 p.m. New York Stock Exchange composite trading yesterday, Verizon's shares rose 35 cents, or 0.9%, to $38.11.

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John Flowers contributed to this article.