Internet service provider EarthLink Inc. has announced its third quarter financial results for the period ending September 30, 2001. The company said it has reached an important milestone in its path towards profitability: Earthlink reported that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were US$1.5 million.
This is an improvement of $9.8 million from the previous quarter and an improvement of almost $40 million for the same quarter year-over-year. EarthLink still reported a net loss for the quarter of about $22.7 million, compared to a $35.1 million loss for the previous quarter. The company reported quarterly revenues of $319.0 million, up 5 percent from last quarter and up 28 percent from the same quarter last year.
EarthLink CEO Garry Betty said that the company’s positive EBITDA showing was achieved through greater operating efficiencies and the first-ever monthly price increase for EarthLink’s basic dial-up service. Betty said that EarthLink is looking to high-speed access to drive further growth, along with home gateway and telecommuting products.
Dial-up customers contributed about $254.3 million to EarthLink’s coffers this past quarter, as they increased the cost of their unlimited monthly dial-up service from $19.95 to $21.95 during the months of July and August. The company noted that the dial-up customer base actually fell during the quarter about 4 percent — to 4.2 million. Earthlink attributes the loss both to the price increase and the continued migration to high-speed access.
High-speed customers made up about $45.1 million of Earthlink’s quarterly revenue, according to the company. EarthLink counted about 406,000 broadband subscribers by the end of September, compared to 346,000 for the second quarter and 139,000 for the same quarter last year.
The remainder of Earthlink’s revenue was generated by Web hosting, advertising, content and commerce.