Q1 revenue of HickoryTech rise 22% on strong fiber, data sales

The Mankato, Minn.-based ILEC's earnings for the quarter ended March 31, rose 8 percent to $2.3 million, while earnings per share totaled 17 cents per diluted share, up 6 percent from the same period last year.

"Our business product lines continue to produce excellent results and drove the strong revenue increases in the first quarter, giving us a solid start to the year," John Finke, HickoryTech's president and chief executive officer, said in the earnings release.

Here's a breakdown of its key segment results:

    Fiber and data: The service provider reported that Q1 2012 fiber and data segment revenue of $13.4 million, up 22 percent year over year, a factor it attributed to strong commercial and wholesale transport and data service sales, in addition to the IdeaOne operations it acquired in March. Fiber and data segment operating income totaled $2.3 million in Q1 2012, a 58 percent year-over-year increase.

    Equipment: Driven by an 87 percent rise in hardware sales, total Q1 2012 equipment segment revenue was $17.4 million, up 67 percent, year-over-year. The service provider's equipment segment revenue was $820,000 in Q1 2012, up $322,000 or 65 percent, year-over-year.

    Telecom: The telco's Q1 2012 Telecom Segment revenue declined 6 percent year-over-year, to $16.7 million, a factor it attributed to expected declines in both traditional local access and network access revenue. Likewise, Telecom Segment net income was $1.3 million, down 24 percent from Q1 2011. Network access revenue totaled $4.9 million, down 16 percent year- over-year, while local service revenue totaled $3.4 million, down 7 percent from 2011. Meanwhile, broadband revenue, which includes DSL, Internet, Data and Digital TV, remained flat at $5 million. One growth spot in the telco's Telecom Segment was bill processing where revenue rose 64 percent year over year to $1.2 million.

HickoryTech is maintaining its 2012 projections, with revenues expected to be in the range of $177 million to $183 million, and net income of $7.6 million to $8.6 million.

The service provider's stock was trading at 10.24, up 0.31 cents in morning trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange.