GTE Corp. reported a net loss for the first quarter of $178 million, or 18 cents per share, compared with net income of $665 million, or 69 cents per share, during the first quarter of 1997.
The company said the loss was due in part to an after-tax, nonrecurring charge of $802 million, or 83 cents per share. Costs associated with new data initiatives further reduced net income by $109 million, or 11 cents per share, said the company.
Excluding those charges, GTE said it would have reported net income of $733 million, or 76 cents per share.
Domestic wireless service revenues totaled $650 million, a 5-percent increase from last year’s first quarter revenues of $617 million, said the company. Average revenue per subscriber per month dropped $1 from fourth-quarter 1997, which the company said it offset by reducing certain operating and acquisition costs.
