Level 3 reports Q1 earnings decline

Level 3 Communications (NASDAQ: LVLT) delivered a first quarter loss of $238 million, nearly doubling its loss from the same period a year ago, blaming a shift in its business to include more low-margin wholesale voice service.

The content delivery network, which recently scored a solid win with ABC News, reported revenue of $910 million for the first quarter, down 7 percent from a year ago, and consolidated EBITDA of $200 million, down nearly 20 percent.

The company-positioning itself to be a consolidator in the space--said it expected to continue decreasing churn; it saw a sequential improvement in the first quarter. That could change after the merger of Qwest and CenturyTel is finalized in 2011, and cause slower sales at Level 3 as Qwest is one of its larger customers.

For more:
- see this release
- see this article

Related articles:
Level 3 lands ABC News deal
VIP Communications Selects Level 3 for Voice Services