SBC Communications' announced its profit dropped 41 percent in the third quarter because of Cingular's higher costs from the recent Gulf Coast hurricanes and its merger with AT&T Wireless. The costs from the AT&T merger and hurricanes were $637 million and $96 million, respectively. SBC would have earned $1.5 billion instead of the $1.2 billion it earned in the quarter, which was a decline from $2.1 billion in that period last year. The past quarter's fallen profits were magnified by the company's third quarter 2004 sale of a directory business that raked in a hefty profit. SBC also eliminated about 3,100 jobs in the quarter, keeping on track to cut 10,000 positions by year's end. Regulators in 33 states have approved of the company's acquisition of AT&T Wireless, leaving just three more states' approval. SBC expects to complete the acquisition by the end of the year, too.
For more on SBC's Q3 profit drop:
- check out this article from The New York Times