FairPoint Communications said this morning that its first-quarter net income was $9.5 million, a 34% decrease from the $14.4 million posted during the same period last year.
FairPoint acquired Verizon’s landline business in northern New England on March 31, 2008, the end of the first quarter. However, because it was Verizon’s subsidiary, Northern New England Spinco Inc., that technically absorbed FairPoint, the first-quarter earnings report reflects the finances of the northern New England business and not the operations of FairPoint before the merger.
The company said its first quarter revenue was $282.4 million, a 5.2% decrease from the revenue it posted during last year’s first quarter. FairPoint blamed the revenue decline on increased marketing by competitors as the company went through the merger. The company expects the decline to abate later this year when its marketing program can be implemented.
