AT&T profit, revenue slip in Q1

AT&T reported a drop in net income for the second straight quarter, as well as a slight decline in revenue, as the telco giant posted its first-quarter earnings report Wednesday.

AT&T still profited to the tune of $3.2 billion, but that was a 9% slide from the same quarter last year. The telco had reported a 23% drop in net income for the fourth quarter of 2008, but the first-quarter number was well ahead of that period\'s $2.4 billion profit.

Meanwhile, revenue for the first quarter came in at $30.57 billion, a decline of less than 1% from the same quarter last year.

Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson attributed the slide to the "tough economy." He said the company was containing costs, while earnings and cash flow were "solid."

Wireless, broadband and TV services continued to be growth engines for the company as wireless revenue was up 10% to $11.6 billion, which included a 39% jump in revenue from wireless data.

The company also added 284,000 U-verse TV customers during the quarter and now has 1.3 million TV customers overall. In both wireless and TV markets, AT&T continues to erase concerns that the overall economic crisis would soften its results in these areas.

Still, landline business challenges appear to be worsening, if anything, as AT&T reported a 12% drop in landline voice revenue to $8.5 billion.

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