Verizon earnings fall 75%, largely on health costs

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Verizon Communications Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!vz/quotes/nls/vz (VZ 29.29, -0.27, -0.91%) on Thursday reported a 75% drop in first-quarter earnings, mostly owing to a large onetime charge for retiree-health care costs. The New York-based company said net income attributable to shareholders fell to $409 million, or 14 cents a share, from $1.65 billion, or 58 cents, a year earlier. Revenue climbed 1.2% to $26.91 billion. Excluding onetime costs, Verizon would have earned 56 cents a share, matching Wall Street's consensus. The nation's largest wireless operator gained a net 1.5 million customers, though only 423,000 fell into the most valuable postpaid category. Verizon also added 168,000 FiOS television customers.