Level 3′s Losses Grew 19 Percent to $204 Million

By Virgil Larson, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.

Oct. 21–Level 3 Communications’ revenue fell nearly 5 percent and losses increased 19 percent in the third quarter when compared with the third quarter a year earlier.

Losses for the quarter that ended Sept. 30 were $204 million, or 29 cents a share, on revenue of $799 million, the Broomfield, Colo., communications company reported Thursday. A year earlier, third-quarter losses were $171 million, or 25 cents, on revenue of $840 million.

The cost of revenue was up but other expense items were lowered enough that costs and expenses declined to $883 million from $891 million in last year’s third quarter.

Revenue from the company’s information services segment, which includes (i)Structure in Omaha, increased to $415 million, surpassing revenue from the communications services segment. Communications services revenue, $364 million in the quarter, comes from operations of the long-haul fiber-optic network, which a year earlier was the bigger revenue producer.

Level 3′s stock price rose 15 cents a share Thursday, closing at $2.40.

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