UPDATE: CenturyLink Posts Surge In Q4 Profit, Lowers Dividend

CenturyLink

reported a strong rise in its fourth-quarter earnings. The company also announced its plans to cut quarterly payout to $0.54 per share from 72.5 cents per share. CenturyLink's quarterly profit surged to $233 million, or $0.37 per share, from $109 million, or $0.18 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding special items, it earned $0.67 per share. Its revenue fell 1.5% to $4.58 billion. The company in November expected earnings of $0.64 to $0.69 per share on revenue of $4.56 billion to $4.61 billion. Its operating expenses declined 4.9% to $3.92 billion. CenturyLink expects Q1 revenue of $4.46 billion to $4.51 billion and adjusted earnings of $0.67 to $0.72 per share. However, analysts were expecting revenue of $4.55 billion and earnings of $0.66 per share. CenturyLink shares dropped 13.53% to $36.05 in after-hours trading.