NEW YORK-In a “three-peat” of its 1995 and 1996 performance, AT&T Corp. again took first place in revenues and net income among carriers last year, despite a marked decline in profits year-to-year.
AT&T closed its last fiscal year with $51.32 billion in revenues, up 1.53 percent from the $50.55 billion it reported the prior year. However, it concluded 1997 with $4.47 billion in net income, a decline in profits of nearly 20 percent compared with 1996.
Bell Atlantic Corp., now merged with Nynex Corp., moved into second place on $30.19 billion in revenues. Nynex and Bell Atlantic placed eighth and ninth, respectively, in this category at the end of 1996.
British Telecommunications plc, which had held second place, moved down a notch into third place after posting revenues of $26.27 billion last year, a 4.72 percent increase compared with the prior year.
In the net-income category, BellSouth Corp. rose to second place for 1997, knocking BT down a peg from its third-place ranking in 1996. BellSouth concluded the 1997 fiscal year with profits of $3.27 billion, a 14.22 percent increase from 1996.
Bell Atlantic placed fifth after GTE Corp., which retained its year-to-year, fourth-place position for profits. GTE posted net income of $2.79 billion, an increase well under 1 percent from its 1996 results.
AirTouch Communications Inc. blew into first place with respect to profit growth, reporting $394 million in profits, an increase of more than 120 percent compared with 1996. AirTouch placed fifth in that category for 1996, a spot occupied for 1997 by Aliant Communications Co.
Another meteoric rise was that of Century Telephone Enterprises Inc., which moved to second place from 12th, reporting a 98.31 percent increase in profits, to nearly $255.98 million.
Alltel Corp., which placed 19th in profit growth for 1996, also rose sharply, moving into the third-place position on 1997 profits of $506.88 million, a 74.4 percent increase.
Omnipoint Corp., which finished its first full year of operation as a carrier in 1997, topped the revenue growth chart. Preferred Networks Inc. moved into second place, up from sixth. Canada’s Clearnet Communications, which wasn’t on the 1996 list, moved into third.
Mexico’s Iusacell led the pack in terms of two-year total return on investment, rising from the 34th-place spot it held for 1996. Sprint Corp. retained second place, while GTE Corp. dropped dramatically to 18th place in 1997, down from third the prior year.
Carrier revenues
The streamlined AT&T easily outdistanced its second-place contender again in 1997, but the carrier taking that red-ribbon spot this time was the newly merged Bell Atlantic.
AT&T posted $51.32 billion in revenues to Bell Atlantic’s $30.19 billion.
In gaining the number-two position for revenues, the big Baby Bell displaced British Telecom, which had held second place for 1996 and reported revenues of $26.27 billion last year.
British Telecom bumped GTE from its third-place position in 1996. GTE finished fifth last year.
SBC Communications Inc. moved to fourth place, up from seventh, displacing BellSouth Corp., which moved down to sixth place from fourth.
Profit growth leaders
Several companies made large leaps forward during 1997 in the important category of profit growth.
AirTouch zoomed into the number-one spot, up from number-five for 1996, with a whopping 120-plus percentage growth in net income. Last year’s leader, Palmer Wireless Inc., dropped out of the rankings altogether. Price Communications Corp. bought Palmer in October.
Alltel rocketed into third place, up from 19th, shunting aside BellSouth Corp., which dropped to sixth. 360
