Verizon quarterly profit jumps, helped by tax reform

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc on Tuesday reported a jump in quarterly profit, helped by tax reform and the addition of phone subscribers.

The No. 1 U.S. wireless carrier said last week a tax-overhaul bill signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump late last year will result in a one-time reduction in net deferred income tax liabilities of about $16.8 billion.

Verizon estimated that the impact of the law to earnings per share for the year ended Dec. 31 was about $4.10.

Net income attributable to Verizon was $18.7 billion, or $4.56 per share, in the fourth quarter through Dec. 31, up considerably from $4.5 billion, or $1.10 a share, a year earlier.

Excluding items such as the impact of the tax law, earnings per share were 86 cents.

Total revenue rose to $34.0 billion from $32.34 billion a year earlier.

According to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, analysts had expected adjusted earnings per share of 88 cents and revenue of $33.26 billion.

Verizon shares were up 1.1 percent at $54.04 in premarket trading.

Verizon said it added 431,000 phone subscribers who pay a monthly bill on a net basis. Analysts at Wells Fargo said in an earlier note that they expected 320,000.

The company said that for 2018, it expects full-year revenue to grow at a low single-digit percentage rate and service revenue growth to turn positive around the end of 2018 or early 2019. It also expects low single-digit percentage growth in adjusted earnings per share, excluding the impact of tax reform and a new accounting standard it has adopted.

(Reporting by Anjali Athavaley; Editing by Bernadette Baum)