Lumos Plans FTTC and Data Center Connectivity Offensives, Reports Q4

As they closed out 2013 with their fourth quarter numbers, Lumos Networks also announced expansion plans on two fronts this morning, updated their fiber route mile count.  The regional network provider spent 2013 focusing on a new metro build-out down in Richmond and making better use of its fiber footprint in Pennsylvania.

During 2014 they plan to upgrade their equipment and build on top of it a Carrier Ethernet-based IP/MPLS overlay aimed at the fiber-to-the-cell-site market. It’s a segment they have already been targeting of course, adding fiber to some 460 such sites in the last two years with another 200 on-tap this year. That will give them 800 or so, past the halfway point to a long term goal of 1,500. The new ‘Project Ark” IP/MPLS overlay will be dedicated to carrying the traffic they backhaul from those sites, connecting the four key regional markets of Pittsburgh, Charleston, Roanoke, and Ashburn.

Lumos will be adding high capacity wavelength connectivity into six more data centers during the first half of 2014, boosting the current total by 50%. Their unique footprint doesn’t have as many data center opportunities as more popular geographies, the company estimates there are some 80 in all, but it certainly makes sense to make a deeper dent into hooking more of them up.  Starting with Q1 they will be updating that number regularly for the financial guys.

And on the same topic of updating numbers, Lumos also tweaked the publicized number of route miles they have on their network. The number has expanded to 7,414 of combined longhaul and metro route miles, up from 5,800 longhaul route miles. The larger number comes partly from their metro expansion projects in places like Richmond, and partly just from the implementation of a new centralized fiber management program.

As for Q4 earnings, revenues came in at $51.0M, EBITDA was $24M, and earnings per share checked in at $0.18. Those are at the low end of guidance and a bit weaker than expected according to composite estimates. For 2014 they introduced guidance of revenues in the $200-204M range, and EBITDA of $94-96M, which is also a bit below estimates. Lots of interesting things going on at Lumos, but there are clearly still significant offsetting trends in the legacy revenue department slowing things down.

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Categories: ILECs, PTTs · Metro fiber