Qwest: Q3 Revs Light; EPS Beats By A Penny; Ups ‘09 Cash Flow View; Stock Gains

Qwest (Q) this morning posted Q3 results that were slightly below Street expectations at the top line, but slight ahead at the bottom line.

The teclo posted revenue for the quarter of $3.07 billion, down 1% from a year ago, and a hair below the Street at $3.07 billion. Profits of 8 cents a share beat the Street by a penny.

The company said it now sees full year adjusted EBITDA at the upper end of its previous guidance range of $4.25 billion to $4.4 billion; Qwest sees capital investments for the year of $1.6 billion, compared with a previous forecvast of $1.7 billion or lower. Full year adjusted free cash flow is now expected to be $1.6 billion to $1.7  billion, above previous guidance of $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion.

Headcount fell almost 10% from a year ago; mass market access lines dropped 12.2%.

In pre-market trading, Q is up 15 cents, at $3.60.