BellSouth Corp, Atlanta-based telecommunications company, reported first-quarter net income down 29% at $693m on revenue up 7% at $4.84bn. Earnings per share for the quarter were off 29% at $0.70, in line with analysts’ expectations. The year-ago figures includes a one-time gain of $344m, or $0.35 per share, on the sale of paging operations. Excluding the gain, earnings per share increased 11%, marking the 17th consecutive quarter BellSouth has improved its operating results. The company says access lines increased by 379,000 in the quarter and its US cellular business has grown 24% over the past year.
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