BellSouth reports 25 percent drop in fourth-quarter earnings

ATLANTA - BellSouth Corporation says it lost 819,000 customers last year as it reported today a nearly 25 percent drop in fourth-quarter earnings. The results fell short of Wall Street expectations. <br> <br> For the quarter ended December 31, the dominant local phone provider in the South earned $597 million, or 32 cents a share, compared to a profit of $792 million, or 42 cents a share, a year earlier. <br> <br> Revenue fell 8 percent to $5.69 billion, compared to $6.21 billion in the same three-month period a year ago. <br> <br> Excluding one-time items, the company said it earned $936 million, or 50 cents a share, in the quarter. On that basis, Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call predicted a profit of 51 cents per share. <br> <br> Spokesman Jeff Battcher blamed competition for local phone service, primarily among business customers, from AT&T and other companies that have traditionally offered long-distance service. <br> <br> In addition to weak demand for phone services, the company said currency devaluations in Argentina and Venezuela weighed on its results.