US telecoms giant AT&T Inc has reported consolidated operating revenues of USD48.0 billion for the three months ended 31 December 2018, up from USD41.7 billion on an annualised basis. EBITDA for the period under review increased from USD7.4 billion to USD14.1 billion year-on-year, while net income attributable to AT&T dropped from USD19.0 billion to USD4.9 billion in Q4, as a result of the overhaul of the US tax system in 2017. Full year operating revenues climbed from USD160.5 billion in 2017 to USD170.8 billion in 2018, while full year net income plummeted from USD29.5 billion to USD19.4 billion.
In operational terms, AT&T reported a total of 153.006 million wireless subscribers in its domestic market as of 31 December 2018, which includes 7.782 million reseller accounts and 51.335 connected devices. In terms of fixed broadband connections, AT&T claimed 14.409 million ‘entertainment’ users and 1.293 million ‘business’ clients. Elsewhere, AT&T’s ‘International’ segment reported 18.321 million mobile users in Mexico as of end-December, alongside 13.838 million Latin American pay-TV customers.
Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO, commented: ‘Our top priority for 2018 and 2019 is reducing our debt and I couldn’t be more pleased with how we closed the year. In 2018, we generated record free cash flow while investing at near-record levels.’