Profits plunge for BellSouth

ATLANTA - BellSouth's fourth-quarter profit plunged 29 percent as the telecommunications giant was saddled with more than $350 million in restructuring costs, continued asset writedowns and a generally feeble economic climate.

Excluding the unusual charges, the results announced Tuesday beat Wall Street's forecast.

BellSouth says it earned $792 million, or 42 cents per share, in the final three months of 2001, down from $1.1 billion, or 59 cents per share, in the same period a year before.

Not counting the one-time costs associated with employee reductions, asset writedowns and currency losses, BellSouth earned $1.19 billion, or 63 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, up from the $1.12 billion, or 59 cents per share, in the October-December quarter of 2001.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call expected BellSouth to earn 60 cents per share.

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