EarthLink third-quarter loss narrowed on broadband growth

NEW YORK - EarthLink Incorporated said its loss narrowed in the third quarter as it added subscribers for high-speed Internet service. <br> <br> The Atlanta-based Internet service provider posted a net loss of $25.7 million, or 20 cents a share. It lost $77 million, or 62 cents a share, a year earlier. <br> <br> Excluding items, EarthLink&#39;s loss came to $645,000, or less than one cent a share, from $22.7 million, or 17 cents a share, a year ago. <br> <br> The mean estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call was for a loss, excluding items, of 3 cents a share. <br> <br> Revenue rose 6.8 percent to $340.7 million from $319 million a year earlier. <br> <br> EarthLink had about $4.8 million paying subscribers on September 30, up 1.2 percent from a year ago. It added 77,000 broadband subscribers. <br> <br> In the past 18 months, the number of U.S. households with high-speed Internet connections has more than doubled to 16 million, or 13 percent of homes. <br> <br> EarthLink shares were up 17 cents, or 3 percent, at $5.52 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market Tuesday.