MCI Reports Sharp Decline in Fourth-Quarter Income

MCI Communications, the nation’s second-largest long-distance company after AT&T;, reported a sharp decrease in fourth-quarter net income but a strong gain in annual net income.

BellSouth and Bell Atlantic, two of the regional telephone companies formed by the 1984 breakup of American Telephone & Telegraph, reported differing fourth-quarter earnings, but both had increased earnings for the full year.

MCI said its fourth-quarter net income fell to $8.3 million from $13.2 million a year earlier.

Revenue increased to $721.4 million from $521.5 million in the year-earlier quarter and included a one-time gain of $113.6 million that the company received as part of the settlement of two antitrust cases.

MCI said net income reflected one-time charges of $26.3 million from the recall of high interest rate debt and a $103.3-million equipment write-down.

The company posted net income of $113.3 million for all of 1985. That compared to $59.2 million in profit for 1984.

Revenue increased to $2.54 billion during 1985 from $1.96 billion the year before.

BellSouth, the largest of the seven regional telephone companies spun off in the breakup of AT&T;, reported net earnings of $333.4 million in the fourth quarter of 1985. That compared to net income of $362.8 million in the same period a year earlier.

The company said it had revenue of $2.7 billion in the quarter, compared to $2.6 billion a year earlier.

BellSouth blamed increased depreciation costs and charges stemming from the settlement of its portion of an antitrust case brought by MCI against the seven former AT&T; companies for depressing fourth-quarter earnings.

For all of 1985, BellSouth had net income of $1.4 billion, compared to $1.3 billion in 1984.

Bell Atlantic posted net income of $269.7 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31. That compared to profit of $241.5 million in the same period of 1984.

The company said its revenue totaled $2.33 billion during the fourth quarter, compared to $2.1 billion in the same period of 1984.

For the entire year, Bell Atlantic’s net income rose to $1.09 billion from 1984’s $973.1 million. Revenue rose to $9.08 billion for the year from 1984’s $8.09 billion.

For detailed data and results of other companies, please see tables, Page 5