AT&T posts big loss on hefty charges, iPhone costs

While AT&T beat analysts' expectations for mobile subscriber additions, the growth came at a cost as its wireless service margins plummeted. It also took a big noncash pension-related charge on top of its $4 billion break-up package.

As a result, the telephone company posted a fourth-quarter loss of $6.68 billion, or $1.12 per share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $1.09 billion, or 18 cents per share.

Excluding the special charges, AT&T earned 42 cents per share, a penny below Wall Street expectations, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

AT&T had warned in December that strong sales of smartphones like iPhone would hurt its profit for the quarter. While iPhone sales can help subscriber numbers and revenue, they also shrink earnings as operators like AT&T and Verizon Wireless heavily subsidize the device to attract customers to two-year contracts.

AT&T's wireless service margin based on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization dropped to 28.7 percent from 43.7 percent in the third quarter and 37.6 percent a year earlier.

"If there's any reason to be upset, it certainly is the margins," said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Chris King, but he noted that strong smartphone sales would help AT&T in the long run.

Revenue rose to $32.5 billion from $31.36 billion and compared with Wall Street expectations for $31.97 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The No. 2 U.S. mobile provider said it had added 717,000 subscribers in the quarter, beating the average expectation for 570,000 from seven analysts.

AT&T had to scrap its plans to buy Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA in December after regulatory opposition.

Shares of AT&T fell 2.2 percent to $29.54 in trading before the market opened.

(Editing by Maureen Bavdek)