By Mike Boyer
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cincinnati Bell Inc. late Monday reported fourth-quarter net income from operations of $13 million, or 6 cents a share, excluding special items, on revenues of $311 million.

The results fell short of the consensus from I/B/E/S Analyst's Earnings Estimates, which were for income of 9 cents a share.

The company, which sold off its broadband business last summer, reported net income for the year of $100 million, or 48 cents a share, excluding special items, on revenues of $1.6 billion.

"Cincinnati Bell closed 2003 a stronger, more focused company than in 2002,'' CEO Jack Cassidy said. Shares in Bell closed Monday at $5, down 7 cents.

The special items, including a noncash gain of $823 million, or $3.08 a share, resulted in Bell reporting net income of $843 million, or $3.17 a share, for the three months ended Dec. 31. Net income for 2003 including the $823 million non-cash gain and other special items, was $1.3 billion, or $5.36 a share.

Bell said its operating income in the fourth quarter was $72 million, excluding special items. For the full year, excluding the special items, Bell reported operating income of $365 million.

The special items in the fourth-quarter included a restructuring charge of $5 million for the termination of about 100 employees.

Over the year, with sale of the broadband business, Bell reduced its net debt by $666 million, or 23 percent.

In the quarter, the company said demand for its high-speed broadband service added 7,000 subscribers to nearly 100,000. That offset a decline in access lines of 2.6 percent from the prior year.

Also during the quarter, Bell said new wireless subscriptions increased 13,000, up 154 percent from the same period last year. Total wireless subscribers were 312,000, up 8 percent from a year ago.

The company said increased subscriptions for its bundled services increased net revenue per household three percent last year to $75 per month.

Bell announced last Thursday it obtained waivers from its lenders for a technical default under its $640 million credit facility because it was forced to restate results for the prior three years and the first nine months of last year.

The restatement grew out of an investigation by its board's audit committee into allegations in a pending shareholder class-action lawsuit that the company's former broadband business inflated revenues to meet earnings expectations from Wall Street. Bell sold the broadband business, Broadwing Communications,last summer.

The company said the audit committee completed its investigation and restated about $54 million in revenue and cost recognition for 2001 and 2000 for a broadband construction contract for El Paso Global Networks begun in 2000. The company said the audit committee found no substantiation of the lawsuit's other allegations.

Earnings at a glance

Fourth quarter	2003	2002
Revenues, in millions	$311.2	$509.3
Net income, in millions (loss)	$843.0	($2,401.4)
Earnings per share	$3.44	($11.00)

Full year	2003	2002
Revenues, in millions (loss)	$1,557.8	$2.178.6
Net income, in millions (loss)	$1.331.9	($4,240.3)
Earnings per share	$5.82	($19.47)

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E-mail mboyer@enquirer.com