AT&T Inc. today reported net income of $3.3 billion for the second quarter of 2009, down about 15% from the second quarter of 2008, spurred by sagging revenues in its traditional voice and directory businesses.
The company's revenue dipped slightly, from $30.9 billion in the second quarter of 2008 to $30.7 billion this past quarter.
AT&T's voice revenue was down more than 13% and directory revenue down more than 12% from a year earlier, while expenses grew by nearly 4%.
Wireless revenue, however, grew by nearly 10%, from $10.9 billion in the second quarter of 2008 to just under $12 billion this past quarter. AT&T's exclusive handset deal with Apple's iPhone has driven up wireless revenue in recent quarters, and this one was no exception. AT&T reported 2.4 million iPhone activations in the quarter, with about a third of those iPhone customers new to AT&T.
Apple launched its new iPhone 3GS in mid-June.
AT&T also reported a 37% increase in wireless data revenue, to $3.4 billion, driven by wireless messaging, Internet access and access to applications, the company said in a press release.
Overall, AT&T reported a 1.4 million net gain in wireless subscribers for the quarter, with 79.6 million total subscribers. That's 6.7 million more subscribers than at the end of the second quarter in 2008.
AT&T's earnings per share for the quarter was 54 cents, compared to 63 cents a year ago.
"Our wireless momentum is excellent, operational execution and cost management continue to be strong, and in a challenging economy we delivered solid results," Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
AT&T also added 112,000 new wireline broadband subscribers during the quarter, compared to a net increase of 46,000 for the second quarter of 2008. AT&T's total broadband connections, including wireline subscribers and wireless customers with 3G LaptopConnect cards, now number 16.9 million, an increase of 209,000 in the quarter.