ATLANTA - Profits rose sharply at BellSouth Corporation in the first quarter because of one-time gain on an asset sale, but the telecommunications giant again cut its earnings outlook for the year Friday on the prospect of continued weak sales. <br>
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Not counting the one-time gain, BellSouth's results for the January-March period fell short of analysts' expectations. <br>
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BellSouth, the nation's third-largest regional Bell company, said it earned $1.15 billion, or 61 cents per share, in the first three months of 2002, compared to $891 million, or 47 cents a share, in the same period last year. <br>
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But the results were skewed by investment income, as BellSouth converted its holdings in a German wireless firm for 234 million shares in the Dutch telecom Royal KPN, and a subsequent $857 million profit last month when BellSouth sold that stake. <br>
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Excluding those gains -- and with several one-time charges -- BellSouth earned $1.01 billion, or 54 cents a share, unchanged from a year earlier. <br>
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Analysts expected a profit of 56 cents per share, according to surveys by Thomson Financial/First Call.
