BellSouth Corp reported second-quarter earnings that, before charges, came in a penny above analysts’ expectations of $0.70 per share. The company posted net income of $654m, or $0.66, including a previously disclosed charge of $47m stemming from a regulatory settlement in South Carolina. Revenue for the quarter grew 7%, as 121,000 new consumer lines were installed in BellSouth’s nine-state region and sales of convenience services – such as call-waiting and voice messaging – rose 26% to $322m for the quarter. US cellular operations grew 21% year-over-year to 3.9 million customers, while the international cellular business grew 83% to 1.8 million customers. For the six months, net income dropped 16% to $1.35bn, against a period which included a one- time $442m gain from the sale of the company’s paging business, on revenue up 7% at $9.77bn.
