I had forgotten that TW Telecom (NASDAQ:TWTC, news, filings) is releasing its earnings PR the night before their CC, so their numbers are already out this evening. As usual, you can set your watch by their revenue and EBITDA growth. But there was a pretty surprising number to be had in the number of lit buildings. My own guesses on the financials were pretty darn close, though it’s not that hard with TW Telecom. Here’s a quick table:
| ($ in millions) | Q4/09 | Q1/10 | Q2/10 | Q3/10 |
Q4/10 (actual) |
variance from my guess |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Revenue | $307.9 | $311.2 | $316.8 | $320.3 | $324.8 | -0.2 |
| M-EBITDA | $113.9 | $114.2 | $114.4 | $115.5 | $119.4 | +0.9 |
| M-EBITDA Margin | 37.0% | 36.7% | 36.1% | 36.1% | 36.7% | +0.2% |
| Earnings per share | 0.07 | 0.08 | 0.10 | 0.11 | 0.11 | -0.01 |
| Revenue Churn | 1.2% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 1.0% | 0.0 |
| Capital Expenditures | $72.3 | $80.9 | $85.0 | $77.8 | $78.1 | +3.1 |
| Free Cash Flow | $25.7 | $17.5 | $15.2 | $23.8 | 26.4 | n/a |
Financials: Revenues climbed a bit higher than I expected, but just barely, reflecting 5% sequential growth in data/internet revenues offset by declines in network services, voice, and intercarrier compensation for 1.4% sequential growth overall. M-EBITDA margin rose to 36.7%, up from the prior quarter on reduced bad debt expense but still lagging last year’s high water mark — have margins peaked?
Buildings & Fiber: TW revealed they now have 11,876 lit buildings, which is an increase of 529 from the prior quarter — the fastest rate at which I have seen the company hook them up by far. The pace had commonly been 250-300 per quarter or so, and in the last few quarters had been above 300, but 529? I’m guessing they’ve been working on more towers than in the past, which tend to come in large bunches like this, I wonder if they’ve been keeping up that pace through the winter. Likewise, the company says they now have ‘nearly 22,000’ metro route miles of fiber, which is an increase of 1,000 or so from Q3. Capex levels were, however, within normal ranges. I look forward to more details on the call tomorrow.
Headcount: Total headcount and sales continued to rise, suggesting the company is planning for a more aggressive 2011. They started the new year with 2,975 employees with 555 sales associates.
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Categories: Financials · Metro fiber
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It seems to me that, this team has found a better traveling “route” to kick the soccer ball down field! I’m starting to like this soccer mom’s cheering style now! Go Johnny, kick the ball in the goal! 🙂
http://www.renesys.com/blog/2011/01/a-bakers-dozen-2010-edition.shtml
Level 3 (AS3356) is now the undisputed leader in our rankings. It held steady through much of the year, growing some late in the year after picking up TW Telecom (AS4323) as a customer.